Dear Esteemed TFNet Members, Partners, and Stakeholders,
Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year!
As we step into 2025, TFNet extends its heartfelt wishes for a prosperous and fulfilling year ahead. We are deeply grateful for your unwavering support, collaboration, and commitment, which have been instrumental in the accomplishments we collectively achieved in 2024.
The past year has been a journey of progress and partnership. TFNet is proud to have made significant strides in aligning our initiatives with the Strategic Framework, ensuring that our activities are not only impactful but also contribute meaningfully to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We express our sincere gratitude to the Government of Malaysia, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), for their hosting support. Our thanks also go to our valued members, academic institutions, development partners, and private sector collaborators whose contributions have enriched our efforts.
TFNet’s programs and events in 2024 demonstrated the strength of our collective vision. Over 500 participants engaged with our initiatives, including international symposiums, webinars, and capacity-building programs. Notably, international webinars addressing underutilized tropical fruits, including longan and wax apple, underscored the need to diversify fruit markets to meet changing global consumer preferences. These sessions provided valuable opportunities to exchange knowledge and identify practical solutions to the challenges within the minor tropical fruit sector.
A significant highlight of 2024 was the important role of TFNet played in the consultancy project on ‘Enhancing the Production of Mango and Other Tropical Fruits to Address Market Demands in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ (A TFNet / King Faisal University partnership). In addition to ongoing consultations, a technical mission was undertaken to detail out the demonstration plot layout, provide advice on the procurement of equipment and services, scheduling for planting materials supply, and the shipment of mango budwood from Australia to KSA. Another highlight for the year was the International Symposium on Tropical Fruits (ISTF 2024), which was organized in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bearing the theme “Postharvest Solutions, Value Addition, and Waste Management for Sustainable Tropical Fruit Value Chains.” This symposium recognised the ongoing challenge of postharvest losses within the tropical fruits sector, particularly for producing countries and brought together leading experts, industry players, policymakers, and researchers to deliberate on innovations and good practices can be adopted to mitigate such losses.
Our engagements with member countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and others, including new partners such as Supportive Fund of Investment Development in Agriculture (SFIDA), Iran yielded meaningful recommendations to address the challenges faced by tropical fruit producers and exporters. These engagements have also created new opportunities to tap into the growing global demand for tropical fruits. Furthermore, TFNet launched important knowledge products, including publications that serve as essential resources for researchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers, further amplifying the reach and impact of our work.
Looking ahead, 2025 promises to be another transformative year for TFNet as we undertake initiatives designed to enhance our role in the tropical fruit industry. Among the key priorities for the year are:
• Completing the mango and tropical fruit production enhancement project in Saudi Arabia by June, in partnership with King Faisal University and MEWA.
• Hosting an international symposium on the economics, trade, and markets of tropical fruits to foster strategic insights and collaboration.
• Continuing to organize webinars focusing on minor tropical fruits to encourage diversification and promote lesser-known tropical fruits species.
• Facilitating study visits to major tropical fruit producing countries.
• Organizing collaborative workshops with international organizations, including FAO-UN and associate members, to strengthen partnerships and drive collective action.
• Upgrading our tropical fruits database to improve access to information and streamline dissemination for stakeholders.
• Expanding our membership base by inviting at new countries and associate members to join TFNet, ensuring broader representation and impact.
Additionally, TFNet will continue its collaboration with the FAO-UN-led Responsible Fruits Project, which brings stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific region together to promote responsible business conduct, resilience to climate change, and risk-based due diligence systems. This initiative has successfully equipped companies with the tools and frameworks needed to operate more sustainably and withstand external shocks.
As we embark on this new year, we recognize that the strength of TFNet lies in its partnerships and the unwavering commitment of its members. Moving forward, we aim to foster more innovative collaborations, deepen our engagement with stakeholders, and broaden our reach to ensure the continued sustainability and growth of the network.
Here’s to a new year filled with meaningful achievements, stronger partnerships, and shared success. May 2025 bring prosperity, progress, and lasting impact for us all as we continue working together to advance the tropical fruit industry.
Warm regards,
The Secretariat of the International Tropical Fruits Network