- Important guests during the opening ceremony
Guangzhou, China: TFNet Chief Executive Officer Yacob Ahmad presented a paper in a workshop on Increasing competitiveness and market access for tropical and subtropical fruit through quality assurance in China last 17 December 2011. Yacob was invited to discuss Enhancing market access through quality management and Good Agricultural Practice initiatives in some producing countries.
Two hundred growers, exporters, traders, researchers, and technicians participated from the public sector, the academe, and private sector. The workshop provided a platform for these stakeholders in the Chinese tropical and subtropical fruit industry to interact and exchange about production and trade issues.
Various technologies that enhance tropical fruit competitiveness were introduced on areas such as quality assurance, postharvest losses, food safety, sanitary and phytosanitary procedures, and Good Agricultural Practices. Current global trends on consumption and trade were also discussed, including the standard requirements of supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Senior Economist Kaison Chang of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) presented a paper on the World Current Market Situation and Outlook for Bananas and Tropical Fruits while Vice President Jeffery Cheah of the Malaysian Fruit Growers Association discussed The Potential of Malaysian Tropical Fruits in the China Market. Huang Binzhi from the Fruit Tree Institute of the Guandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences introduced New Technologies for Fruit Production in Guangdong Province, followed by a technical presentation by Dr. Chen Weixin from the South China Agricultural University on Postharvest and Logistics Technology of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits. Qi Chunjie, manager of a supermarket chain, advised participants on How Small Growers can gain Access to the Big Markets.
In the afternoon workshop session, the participants were divided into 3 groups to deliberate on issues related to market strategy, management, and cooperatives development. The participants also exchanged information on fruit production technologies.
Exhibits of some fruit products by major companies at the workshop
- Stakeholders attending the workshop