After a year's pause due to the pandemic, the world's leading trade fair specialized in the global fruit trade successfully resumed, bringing together more than 40,000 first-class buyers and trade visitors from 130 countries with more than 2,000 exhibitors from 87 countries.
The UP participants were:
Students:
- Rafaella Vargas Corbacho
- Maria Gracia Miranda
Alumni:
- Rodrigo Ruiz de Castilla
- Paola García Arantxa Nuñez
Exhibitions for the world
More than 2,000 exhibitors from 80 countries presented their products, services and technical solutions at this fair. Among them, Paola García and Rodrigo Ruiz de Castilla, graduates of the International Business program, participated as exhibitors from the companies in which they work. Paola represented Dole Food Company, a U.S. multinational fruit company based in Westlake Village, California. The company has created an on-site packaging concept for bananas, grapes, strawberries or pineapples.
For Paola, language proficiency was an advantage when interacting with potential clients and strategic partners. "Most people in Europe already speak 3 or 4 languages and, definitely for me, speaking 3 languages (Spanish, English and German) helped me to be flexible and to be able to represent my company (Dole) in a good way."
García, who works in the Product Management area of Dole, had several meetings with potential suppliers for this year's blueberry campaign. “The fair gave me the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures. Getting to know them closely and accepting that we live in a world of different realities was really sobering. I understood that, to do business, we don't need to think alike, we only need to have clear objectives and support each other for a fruitful cooperation".
On the other hand, Rodrigo Ruiz represented Agrícola Cerro Prieto, a local company engaged in the production, packing and export of Hass avocado, table grapes, green asparagus and blueberries.
Commercial meetings
Arantxa Núñez, an International Business graduate, was the negotiation manager for the Danper team, an agribusiness company focused on the cultivation, production and export of fine vegetables, fruits, super grains and gourmet products. Currently, she is Senior Corporate Executive dealing with the 3 companies in a cross-cutting manner: Dominus, Danper Trujillo and Arba Colombia.
"We were a large team of 10 people. We set up a large stand for the commercial meetings that, at present, are focused on the Peruvian avocado campaign," says Arantxa.
Arantxa has been working in agribusiness for 4 years. Her previous experience was at Agrícola Cerro Prieto dealing with fresh mango and avocado.
Despite the current situation, the COVID-19 health crisis and the war between Russia and Ukraine, the call for Peruvian companies at the fair was satisfactory. "I was surprised to see that the Peru and Danper stand was full at all times. Good sales options were generated and I learned about new technologies in machinery, packaging, fertilizers, etc.".
International Business students also excelled in this experience. JCH Organic financed the trip of two students to support them in their commercial work. They were Rafaella Vargas Corbacho and Maria Gracia Miranda.
About the Fruit Logistics Fair
At the fair, visitors found: technology and inputs for the sector such as seeds, variety development and nursery trees; cultivation equipment and systems; post-harvest technical systems, product control technology; cooling systems; ripening; packaging/sorting machinery and technology; processing machinery; packaging containers; weighing systems, labeling, barcodes; bulk containers, transport/storage containers, pallets, etc.