The first international conference on strawberry, organized by Veiling Hoogstraten, CLTV Zundert and the Hoogstraten Experimental Center comes to an end today, September 3, 2010.

The conference was officially opened by Gaston Opdekamp, director of the fruit and vegetable auction Veiling Hoogstraten. "Every year there about 4 million tonnes of strawberries are marketed worldwide. More than a third of world production is European. Belgium and Holland are the main stakeholders in the strawberry industry, particularly in the production that in these countries is carried out all year round almost and is of high quality”, said Gaston.

Gaston said that Hoogstraten currently sells over 25,000 tons of high quality strawberries. Produced in Belgium’s northern regions of and southern Holland. In addition the auction also has a large share of Benelux total production, which amounts 80,000 tons.

Kris Peeters, the Flemish Prime Minister also in charge of agricultural policies, expressed his appreciation for the important role played by Hoogstraten in the European and world strawberries industry. "The Flemish government is investing heavily in research of new techniques and methods of cultivation. We are working on a sustainable agricultural sector, in which the use of pesticides will be greatly reduced."


The Latin American strawberry industry

Miguel Angel Giacinti presented the Latin America strawberry industry. "With 68%, North America is still our biggest buyer, but the market is changing. Europe but even the Far East are becoming increasingly important for Latin America. In 2009, 10% of Latin American exported strawberries went to Europe: Belgium and France were the main destination markets. Yet the European market is not easy for South American. "Prices vary widely from country to country and this is certainly not encouraging."

China has also become a major destination for Latin American strawberries. In particular, Chile exports a lot to this country, where strawberries are well paid. Increasing exports to the Far East are driven primarily by price.

The main areas of strawberry production in Latin America are Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Argentina and Chile are major exporters and their volumes have increased dramatically in recent years.

Source: Freshplaza