GHANA AT FRUIT LOGISTICA FAIR 2022, MESSE BERLIN, GERMANY

The Fruit Logistica fair is one of the biggest annual international fairs for fresh fruits and vegetables in the world. The fair brings together hundreds of producers and buyers of horticultural products annually and has created international business for developing countries such as Ghana in the sector for decades.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the fair was put on hold in the last two years. This year’s event held from April 5th – 7th in Berlin has therefore provided a big relief for actors and operators in the fruits and vegetable sector and prospects for renewed and revitalized international trade in this important sector is indeed very high. The zeal and enthusiasm with which the fair opened is an indication that exhibiting companies are likely to strike very good deals, including Ghanaian exhibitors participating in the fair.

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority is leading a delegation of thirty exhibitors from seven horticultural product associations and export facilitating institutions and agencies to participate in the event.

The Associations are the Sea-Freight Pineapple Exporters of Ghana(SPEG), the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana(VEPEAG), the Ghana Association of Vegetable Exporters(GAVEX), the  Ghana Root Crops and Tubers Exporters Union(GROCTEU), the Mango Group, The Fruit and Vegetable Producers Association of Ghana (FAVPAG) and the Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE). FAGE is the umbrella body of all the Associations in the horticultural sector.

In view of the importance that Ghana attaches to the horticultural sector and the Fruit Logistica in particular, a high-powered delegation led by Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority and her deputy Mr. Samuel Dentu as well as Mr. Lawrence Agyinsam, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Eximbank, Mr. Foster Boateng, the Deputy Chief Executive of the  Tree Crop Development Authority and senior Officials of the Food and Drugs Authority are attending the fair.

The support provided by H.E. Gina Ama Blay, Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany  and her team has been excellent so far. On the second day of the fair, H.E. Gina Blay visited the Ghana Pavilion and had a very fruitful meeting with Dr. Julia Bellinghausen, the Head of the Import Promotion Desk (IPD) a German Cooperation Agency which is active in Ghana providing support to the horticultural sector companies to export to the European Union. In attendance was Mr. Samuel Dentu, Deputy Chief Executive of GEPA. Other important meetings held at the sidelines of the fair included one with the leadership of BGA, another German Cooperation Agency implementing projects in Ghana with the horticultural Associations such as the Federation of Associations of Ghanaian Exporters (FAGE), the Sea-Freight Exporters of Ghana (SPEG), the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG) and the Papaya and Mango Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (PAMPEAG). Indeed, the BGA Project in Ghana was initiated at the last Fruit Logistica Fair held in 2019 when GEPA held meetings with the BGA team, and an understanding was reached for the project to be implemented in Ghana.

The main objective of Ghana’s participation in this year’s Fruit Logistica is to attract investors and partners to enhance the development of the horticultural sector. Opportunities exist in plantation farming, input supply, provision of infrastructural support systems such as irrigation facilities as well as research and development in the sector.  To this end, the GEPA team, led by Dr. Afua Asabea Asare and with support from Mr. Samuel Dentu has so far had very fruitful discussions with prospective investors who have shown keen interest in considering Ghana as a fertile place to put their investments. Some of these potential partners include Signature Agri Investments, MNG Airlines, Biedronka, a Polish Supermarket chain, 12Tree GmbH, a German investor in Agro forestry and a few others.