2009 Annual Report
Annual Report 2009
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Photo front: Langfruit BV
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Contents
page
Foreword by Wim Tacken “Operating results under constant downward pressure”
6–7
Mission "Healthy trade..."
8–9
Bird's eye view of the sector
10 – 17
Priority in policy plan for national and international lobby
18 – 23
Capsicum exports restored following successful lobby
24 – 27
“It won't be easy, but doing nothing is not an option”
28 – 31
“First the facilities, then the profits will follow”
32 – 35
“Give companies much more responsibility”
36 – 39
“Companies render more account to society”
40 – 43
“It's normal to us, but it isn't a matter of course”
44 – 47
“Collective contracts: price benefits and support”
48 – 51
“It is stronger to present the European approach”
52 – 55
“Selling because a product is good, not because you have a lot of it”
56 – 59
Internal organisation of Frugi Venta as from 1st January 2010
60 – 61
Five Foundations 'under' Frugi Venta
62 – 63
Board of Frugi Venta as from 1st January 2010
64
External representations as of 1st January 2010
65
Frugi Venta Commission and Committees
66 – 67
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Wim Tacken
6
Operating results constantly under pressure This is the 2009 annual report. Life appears to have returned to its normal pace. That's not a bad thing: economic developments in 2008 created considerable tensions, and there were times where we had the feeling that we were getting close to stormy financial waters without precedent. In the course of the year there were signs of a stabilisation followed by a cautious recovery in the economy and at the stock exchanges.
and we are now turning our full attention to the tomatoes. There were also problems and opportunities in our trade flows from and to other countries. We are gratified to note that the Dutch government, via the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, is working hard and in close consultation with the business community on removing obstacles as quickly as possible or helping to create new opportunities in our trade system. Our sector and political circles continue to hold intensive discussions on issues such as clustering, fair margins and other structures. Of course we understand that the confrontation with low prices among producers calls for alternatives. Not a day goes by without our experiencing the market reality, where supply and demand hold sway. It is within that reality that we are organising and building, where desirable and possible together with other parties in the supply chain, on forward and backward alliances in the supply chain in order to serve the market better. This brings me personally to the end of my 3-year term of office as chairman. I have held this position with great pleasure and given it my all. I would like to thank my fellowdirectors for the good relations. I would also like to offer a word of thanks to our staff for their efforts in once again providing us with professional support in these exceptional times.
Our trade volume maintained its level, a slight rise in the exports of products grown in the Netherlands, and a slight shortfall in import. However the low prices of a number of products resulted in a sharp fall in turnover. That placed our companies' results under constant downward pressure. Compared to other economic sectors - certainly the wholesale sector - we could consider ourselves lucky that the food sectors are less sensitive to economic fluctuations. The price fluctuations in our traditional sales areas in Western Europe may have been caused even more by the sharp rise in local production than by the effects of the economic recession on the demand for our products. Despite all the turbulence, developments in a large number of other areas continued as usual. That is illustrated in this annual report in interviews with the people concerned. We have chosen as our theme the key points as set out in the policy plan 'Healthy Trade 2009 – 2011’. The key points are: logistics and standardisation, quality, food safety, sustainability, labour, our own service to the members, our networks, communication and promotion. I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for all those who have selflessly contributed to these areas.
Wim Tacken
Regarding the trade policy, our motto 'all hands on deck' remained fully in effect. The negotiations with Russia were extremely intensive. The tension reduced slightly, possibly owing to the gradual improvement in the score for our exports on the Russian MRLs. In our exports to the US we more or less 'escaped by the skin of our teeth' regarding the capsicums,
Chairman
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
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Mission Healthy Trade… In other words, the promotion of trade in healthy products by healthy companies. Frugi Venta wishes to strengthen its members' competitiveness through:
π General protection of interests in relation to the government (both nationally and internationally), customers, suppliers and trade unions. π Collective and individual services to increase the professionalism, effectiveness and flexibility of the companies and their employees. π Promotion of the mutual relationships between members.
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
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Bird's eye view of the sector The year 2009 was characterised by the deepest economic recession since the Second World War. The intervention of the FED, the American Congress and the European Central Banks only just succeeded in preventing the collapse of the international banking system. Following the lowest point on the stock exchanges in March 2009, the economy in the Eurozone gradually picked up again in the third and fourth quarters.
Continued recovery in 2010
France and Germany have succeeded in achieving growth once again as early as in the second quarter. Production in the Netherlands returned to growth after the third quarter of 2009
The upturn in the Dutch economy can be attributed to the
following a substantial downturn in the four previous quarters.
recovery in exports. The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy
The Gross Domestic Product in 2009 ultimately fell by 4 per cent,
Analysis (CPB) is forecasting 1.5 per cent economic growth
and domestic consumption by 2.5 per cent.
based on the 6 per cent growth in goods exports. Domestic
The 12.5 per cent decline in world trade led to Dutch exports
consumption is expected to remain stable owing to continuing
falling by 9.5 per cent and imports by 10 per cent.
low consumer confidence and the increase in unemployment to 6.5 per cent of the working population. Inflation will remain low
Inflation in 2009 was 1.25 per cent, half the level of 2008
in 2010 at around 1 per cent. The CPB nonetheless expects to
owing to the fall in oil and gas prices and to the economic slump.
see a slight decrease in buying power owing to the slight wage
The average rise in the basic pay rate was around the 3 per cent
rise. The government budget deficit will run up to 5.8 per cent in
mark. Buying power therefore rose by 1.75 per cent in 2009.
2010. If the economic recovery continues, it will be necessary to make a start with large-scale economies from 2011 onwards in
Because of he fall in tax income and the rise in public
the order of â‚Ź 35 billion on the government budget. It will not be
expenditure, caused mainly by more people being entitled
until 2012 that the GDP returns to the 2008 level.
to benefits, the budget deficit in 2009 rose to 4.6 per cent of
All forecasts are subject to a great deal of uncertainty, not least
GDP compared with a 0.7 per cent surplus in 2008. The rise in
owing to the risks of the huge debts of the EU Member States
unemployment could have been worse under the circumstances.
Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, which have had an adverse
Unemployment rose from 3.9 per cent to 5 per cent of the
effect on the euro. The recovery of the economic growth in the
working population.
United States up to now can be attributed to extra government spending. Consumer spending and business investments in the USA have not returned to previous levels. Until that happens, the recovery will remain fragile.
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Sales crisis
Division of the margins
The prediction that the economic downturn would not have a
The emergency signals in the primary sector have attracted
serious impact on vegetable and fruit growers and the wholesale
the attention of politicians in the European and the Dutch
sector has fallen short of the mark. Greenhouse horticulture in
parliament. In particular, they have questioned the big difference
particular has been affected by the economic crisis in the food
between the selling prices of the grower and the price paid by
crop sector and the ornamental plant cultivation sector alike.
the consumer for fresh fruit and vegetables at the supermarket.
The number of forced company closures in the greenhouse
This 'inexplicable' price difference has prompted the European
horticulture sector stayed within reasonable bounds in 2009, but
Commission and the Dutch government to launch an inquiry
the biggest financier, Rabobank, announced that credit facilities
into the possibility of supermarkets and/or their suppliers
totalling â‚Ź 1 billion for the greenhouse horticulture sector have
abusing their dominant market position. In the Netherlands, the
been noted as doubtful. That represents 15 per cent of the total
Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) with the cooperation
outstanding credit.
of the Landbouw Economisch Instituut (LEI), published a report
The sales crisis was caused by overproduction in large parts
that sets out to analyse the division of margins in the supply chain
of Europe and demand that fell short of expectations in some
from the grower to the shop shelf. One of the findings is that the
export markets, including Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland
large price difference is 'largely' explained by the high costs of
and some East European markets. Many buyers in the export
the intermediate trade. Frugi Venta has since informed the NMa
trade sector are facing payment difficulties or have unilaterally
of its disagreement concerning the substance of this finding. In
extended the payment term. Credit insurers drastically reduced
our opinion the researchers have misinterpreted the collective
or withdrew credit limits at the end of 2008.
selling prices for the growers, the supply chain costs and the retail prices. The political thesis concerning the possibility of
Apart from the economic recession and the overproduction,
distorted ratios is based on tunnel vision and despite being given
the low market prices are explained by the fragmented sales
a veneer of scientific respectability has yet to be proven. On
structure. Despite the fact that 90 per cent of Dutch growers
the basis of this NMa report, the 'Agriculture and Horticulture
are organised in CMO (Common Organisation of the Market)-
Organisation', LTO, has called for the institution of a 'market
accredited growers' associations, the number of parties
supervisor' to promote a fairer division of the margins in the
supplying products to supermarket organisations has sooner
supply chain. This has gained the approval of the LTO's rank and
gone up than down during the last decade. The call to cluster
file, but a call such as this is barely in keeping with reality. Frugi
sales in associations of product organisations (APOs) under the
Venta assumes that the much-vaunted free market in the fruit and
CMO scheme gave rise in 2009 to a lot of discussion but barely
vegetable sector is not open to discussion.
yielded any concrete results. The APO could be used to make agreements on quality, sanctioned supply and price coordination
NMa raid
and promotional campaigns. But an APO will not change the number of suppliers and allied trade parties. Only a merger of growers' associations could lead via complete concentration to
In the middle of the summer of 2009, during the lowest point of
a structural improvement in the negotiation position. The growers'
the sales crisis, the sector was shaken up by an NMa raid on
associations Westveg, Tradition, Unistar and Brassica set a good
sales organisations and trading companies in the Netherlands
example by announcing a merger at the end of 2009.
and Belgium. This was prompted by a suspicion of illegal price
On behalf of the member trading houses, Frugi Venta has
fixing in the sale of fruit and vegetables in the first and second
repeatedly called for improvement in the vertical supply
links of the chain. Later in the year the visited and other market
chain partnership in order to provide the large supermarket
parties received a detailed questionnaire from the NMa. The
organisations with a better service. Horizontal clustering in
NMa investigation could take a good deal of time yet. The
APOs is 'product-oriented' thinking and action, whereas what the
result cannot be predicted. The NMa denies that there is a link
market really wants is products and logistics services that enable
between the report published in 2009 and this raid.
European retailers to distinguish themselves among consumers. In our opinion, a virtual clustering of the product supply through APOs will not lead to a stronger market position.
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Bird's eye view of the sector
Production value and export figures
The high production levels (10 per cent increase worldwide) and the low price level resulted in clear growth in the export volume
The sales crisis has led to a notable reduction in the production
for tomato +12 per cent, capsicum +9 per cent, cucumber
value of the food crop sector. While volumes remained
+3 per cent and aubergine +11 per cent. These four greenhouse
unchanged or rose slightly, the downward pressure on prices
vegetables represent 72 per cent of vegetable exports (not
resulted in the production value falling by 15 per cent to
including onions). The exports of white and red cabbage, carrot,
€ 2.1 billion euros. The production value of greenhouse
mushrooms, leek and green beans lagged behind compared
vegetables fell by 15 per cent owing to the decline in the
with 2008. Total vegetable exports, not including onions, rose on
average prices for tomatoes, capsicum and aubergine by
balance by 2.5 per cent to 2,032,000 tons.
20 per cent to 30 per cent and cucumber by 10 per cent. The production value for field vegetables fell by 18 per cent, mushrooms by 12 per cent and fresh fruit 17 per cent.
Production value of food crop sector (in millions of euros) 2006
2007
2008
2009*
% change compared to 2008
1.350
1.340
1.270
1.080
– 15%
Field vegetables
430
400
400
330
– 18%
Onions
100
115
65
70
+ 8%
Mushrooms
230
250
260
230
– 12%
Fresh fruit
375
370
470
390
– 17%
€ 2,485 m
€ 2,475 m
€ 2,465 m
€ 2,100 m
– 15%
Greenhouse vegetables
Total fruit and vegetables *2009 = provisional
Source: Product Board for Horticulture The exports of fresh fruit of Dutch origin fell over the year as a Despite that, there were some redeeming features. The onion
whole by 10 per cent to 304,000 tons. This was caused by the
sector did relatively well, and asparagus, leek, spinach and
exceptionally low pear harvest in 2008 and the dilatory sale
strawberries achieved good average prices over the year.
of apples owing to the large European stocks. Pear exports fell
Owing to the halving of the pear harvest in 2008/2009, the
by 15 per cent to 154,000 tons, apple sales by 3 per cent to
Conference sold at good prices during that season.
126,000 tons. Strawberry exports fell by 4 per cent to 20,500
The export value for fruit and vegetables decreased for the first
tons.
time in a long series of years. Including re-export, the overall export value fell in 2009 by 10 per cent to € 5,570 million. Fifty per cent of the Dutch export volume consists of previously
Changeable situation regarding destinations
imported product, mainly fresh fruit. The import value fell by 6 per cent to € 3,670 million.
Exports to the most important destination, Germany, rose in
Rise in the exports of Dutch product
2009 by 4 per cent to 914,000 tons, or 39 per cent of total exports, not including onions. This growth can be fully attributed
Despite everything, the exports of fresh fruit and vegetables of
to greenhouse vegetables. It also proved possible to export
Dutch origin, not including onions, ended 2009 just in the black.
significantly more to France, +6 per cent and particularly Italy,
The export volume rose by 1 per cent to 2,336,000 tons. That
+43 per cent, and Spain, +15 per cent. Conversely there was a
growth was achieved in the second half of the year. Up until July,
decline in exports to England, -3 per cent, Belgium, -9 percent,
exports remained 9 per cent under the 2008 level.
Sweden, -10 per cent and Ireland, -12 per cent.
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Outside of the EU 220,000 tons of fruits and vegetables were
After Russia, Norway is the most important destination outside of
sold, representing a reduction of 5 per cent, which was caused
the EU at 37,500 tons, representing growth of 2 per cent.
mainly by a 17 per cent decrease in exports to Russia, which
Despite the export ban on capsicum in the autumn, vegetable
fell to 94,000 tons. There was also a reduction in the exports of
exports to the USA and Canada increased by 54 and 39 per
fruit, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot and white cabbage to Russia,
cent respectively. Another positive high point was the 55 per cent
but an increase in capsicum and aubergine. Pear exports to
increase in exports to Japan.
Russia picked up again from August onwards. There were also reductions in Ukraine, -42 percent and Croatia ‑18 per cent.
Indices for wholesale in fruit and vegetables (in millions of euros) 2006
2007
2008
2009
Total turnover incl. double counts*
11.319
12.300
12.458
Not known
Export value of fresh vegetables (incl. re-export)**
3.335
3.620
3.718
3.400
– 9%
Export value of fruit (incl. re-export)**
1.965
2.303
2.664
2.350
– 12%
Total export value
5.300
5.923
6.382
5.750
– 10%
964
1.066
985
970
– 2%
Import value fruit**
2.396
2.594
2927
2.700
– 8%
Total import value
3.360
3.660
3.912
3.670
– 6%
Domestic Wholesale*
4.268
4.415
4.525
Not known
766
875
768
Not known
Import value fresh vegetables**
Forwarding (incl. auctions)* * Source: HBAG fruit and vegetables ** Source: CBS/PT (2009: provisional figures)
2006
2007
2008
768
804
780
Number of exporters
320
324
322
Number of domestic wholesalers
468
455
453
Number of importers
128
130
137
Number of wholesalers (> € 0.5 m)* Broken down as follows:
Source: HBAG fruit and vegetables * Each wholesale company may have several trading functions
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% change compared to 2008
Bird's eye view of the sector
New export record for onions
Takeover of Super de Boer
Onion sales form the plaything of supply and demand at global
The takeover of Super de Boer by Jumbo shook the foundations
scale. Dutch onion exports reached a new record in 2009 with
of the Dutch supermarket sector. Also, Jumbo left the procurement
a volume of 935,000 tons, up 12 percent on 2008 and no less
organisation Superunie to set up the new procurement
than 38 per cent more than in 2007.
consortium 'Bijeen' together with Schuitema/C1000. At first, only
At 571,000 tons, exports outside of the EU are significantly
the procurement of grocery goods will be clustered. Fruit and
higher than the 364,000 tons of exports to other EU Member
vegetables will follow later in 2011/2012. 'Bijeen' has a market
States. The far off destinations in Africa did especially well in
share of approximately 23 per cent of supermarket turnover.
2009: Africa 312,000 tons (+28 per cent), Central America
Assuming a fruit and vegetable turnover of € 2.6 billion and a
56,000 tons (+14 per cent) and Malaysia 55,000 tons
35 per cent gross margin, this clustering could lead to a shift in
(+26 per cent). What might prove to be a temporary slump of
turnover in the wholesale phase of around € 400 million in fruit
31 per cent in onion exports to Russia to a quantity of 67,000
and vegetables.
tons was therefore more than made up for by other far off destinations. A new emerging far off market is Brazil: prior to
Total turnover in foods and luxury foodstuffs in supermarkets rose
2008 virtually zero, 8,000 tons in 2008 and 16,000 tons in
in 2009 by 5 per cent to € 31.7 billon. The rise of market leader
2009.
Albert Heijn continued, with its market share growing - in part
Within the EU the United Kingdom, at 115,000 tons, is by far the
owing to the takeover of C1000 establishments - from
biggest buyer, representing an increase of 15 per cent. Germany
31.3 per cent to 32.8 per cent. The market share of the formats
follows at 52,000 tons (-2 per cent). Forecasts for the second
included in the procurement consortium Bijeen from 2010
half of the 2009/2010 sales season for onions are once again
onwards fell from 24.8 per cent to 23.1 per cent: C1000 and
favourable.
Super de Boer lost market share. Jumbo grew substantially less than in previous years from 4.8 per cent to 4.9 per cent. Following the departure of Jumbo, the Superunie members still account for 29.6 per cent. According to Nielsen, Lidl is the
Domestic sales under downward pressure
biggest riser after Albert Heijn. The discounter ended at 5.4 per cent compared with 4.8 per cent in 2008. Aldi again lost market share, remaining at 8.3 per cent. In 2004 Aldi still had a share
Consumer spending on fresh fruit and vegetables via the
of 9.7 per cent.
supermarkets totalled approx. 2.6 billion in the Netherlands, consisting of € 850 million in unprocessed vegetables,
The rise in supermarket turnover has been achieved at the
€ 585 million in processed vegetables and € 1,100 million
expense of food service turnover and specialist food businesses.
in fresh fruit, including € 35 million in processed fruit (source:
According to FSIN, these two outlets have lost a good € 1 billion
PT). Supermarket sales represent 78 per cent of overall retail
in consumer turnover. In food service alone that was € 650
spending in fresh fruit and vegetables to a value of € 3.35
million.
billion. Added to that is the consumer spending in the food
According to the Main Board for Retail Trade (HBD) the number
service sector (catering, wholesale, company restaurants,
of specialist fruit and vegetable businesses fell in 2009 by
institutions). Food service turnover for fresh fruit and vegetables is
160 to 1,270. Apart from these businesses, there are 1,200
estimated at € 850 million.
ambulant traders. The HBD estimates the market share of the
In 2009 expenditure was by no means higher than the level in
specialist fruit and vegetable businesses at 9 per cent (2008)
2008. Consumers have become cautious when it comes to more
and the ambulant trade at 10 per cent.
exotic and expensive products. Also, prices faced downward pressure in 2009. The consumer index for fresh fruit was 2.5 per cent lower on average in 2009. The average vegetable price was substantially higher in the first quarter at around 11 per cent, but after that it was 5 to 7 per cent lower than in 2008. The growth in the ready-to-cook range slowed down in 2009. In recent years the growth in turnover for this category was in double figures, but did not rise beyond 3 per cent in 2009. This is also related to the price effect.
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Sustainability more important Looking back on developments over the past year it is notable that the theme of sustainability has appeared in various manifestations at the fruit and vegetable department of supermarkets. This includes the spotlight being placed on local growing. The new Willem & Drees concept in which regional seasonal products are presented in a separate counter is proving successful. The aim is to achieve 250 sales outlets by the end of 2010. Authentic regional products offer an attractive addition to the standard range that is available all year round. Marqt is a comparable format that is responding to this trend. Sustainability comes under the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, which includes making less use of pesticides, the CO2 footprint, fair trade - meaning a fair price for the (foreign) grower and biologically degradable packagings. Put simply, there are plenty of opportunities for adding more quality and experience to fruit and vegetables in the supermarket and among fruit and vegetable specialists.
A more detailed statistic summary will be published as a supplement to this report in June 2010, giving export and import figures, numbers of wholesalers, importers and exporters per turnover class. See also our website: www.frugiventa.nl.
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Bird's eye view of the sector
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
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Priority in policy plan for national and international lobby
On 26 March 2009 the General Members' Meeting adopted the Policy Plan 2009-2011 'Healthy Trade'. The theme areas on which Frugi Venta will mainly be focusing for the next three years are: the national and international lobby for the prevention or removal of trade barriers, the development of strategic supply chain cooperation with the aid of innovative logistics and standardisation and the promotion of sustainability in the business operations of companies in the sector.
This section provides an overview of the key points of the
internationally in order to prevent embargos. Frugi Venta is
results achieved. A number of specific activities for each theme
increasingly emerging as the central point of contact for all
are covered in the following interviews with members and
government agencies and organisations for the moderation
representatives of Freshfel and the Product Board for Horticulture.
of trade barriers. There is intensive cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Plant Protection Service (PD), the Quality Control Agency, the Product
Lobby central
Board for Horticulture, Food Compass and private lobby organisations such as the NFO, LTO-Glaskracht and the Dutch
In this time of recession stagnating trade flows certainly justify
Potato Association. Also, the agricultural attachĂŠs at the Dutch
'alarm phase 1' at Frugi Venta. Unfortunately we had to spend
embassies in the relevant export countries are regularly called on
a lot of time in 2009 on the lobby in the Netherlands and
for assistance.
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Our lobby also focuses on the penetration of new markets. China
Intense consultation with Russia
looks attractive, but prohibits the import of fruit and vegetables from the Netherlands on phytosanitary grounds. Talks with China
Exports to Russia called for the most attention in March 2008
on the Pest Risk Analysis for the Conference made progress in
the European Commission agreed on a memorandum of
2009, but a breakthrough has yet to be achieved.
understanding with Russia. The Member States have given an undertaking to respect Russian law in the area of maximum
The EU's garlic import regime also has mainly to do with
residues of pesticides and nitrate content. Since that time there
China. The Dutch trade sector has a major interest in increasing
have been many consultations between the Russian authorities
the import of Chinese garlic in the EU. Freshfel and the Joint
and the Member States to arrive at an EU protocol providing
Administration department of the Product Board for Horticulture
a practical interpretation of these undertakings. Until now
are offering sufficient support to achieve this aim.
agreement has not been reached between the EU and Russia. The number of products that can be sent via the Netherlands
Logistics and standardisation
to Russia exclusively with a safety certificate, including laboratory results, has gradually been extended to twelve, including tomatoes, apples, pears, carrots and onions. The
The Dutch trade sector has a logistical advantage over the
logistical problems and administrative burdens resulting from
foreign competition. Rotterdam, Schiphol, the Westland,
these measures are proving especially difficult to overcome
Barendrecht/Ridderkerk, Venlo and the Betuwe offer a logistics
for package exporters. Despite that, exports have not been
network for efficient import and export transactions. To retain
subjected to an embargo. The 17 per cent decrease in export
this logistical advantage, maintenance and innovation form an
volume is being caused in part by the precarious financial
absolute must. Frugi Venta's policy plan centres on two projects:
position of the Russian debtors.
Fresh Corridor and Frug I Com. Related projects are CLIENT Export and 'Tuinbouw Integraal Digitaal'.
The Netherlands and Russia did however reach full agreement on 1 July 2009 on the phytosanitary inspection and certification
The long-term project Fresh Corridor got off to a good start in
of plants and products of vegetable origin. As a result, the
2009 with ten sub-processes. The current situation is set out at
Plantkeur system that came into effect on 1 September 2007 was
www.freshcorridor.nl. Reducing the number of lorry kilometres by
accepted by Russia thanks to the agreement that the PD will more
making use of facilities such as inland shipping calls for a drastic
clearly and visibly accept responsibility for the issue of phyto-
change in mentality among the fruit and vegetable companies.
certificates for exports to Russia.
For that purpose a 'roadshow' is being organised from 2010 in
The problems with Russia prompted the board of management to
order to share the knowledge and best practices in the
set up a separate working group for the traders involved.
Fresh Corridor project with interested trade companies and logistics service providers. The first inland shipping connection is now operational, from
US export embargo
Maasvlakte to Ridderhaven near Barendrecht. In mid-2010 this connection will be upscaled by Rotterdam Port Authority to the
The exports of Dutch vegetables to the USA was however
hinterland. Market parties have already expressed an interest.
subjected to a complete embargo: capsicum from 2 October to
Another sub-process, the relocation of the Rotterdam fruit terminal
15 January 2010, tomatoes from 11 February 2010 indefinitely.
at Merwehaven to the Waal-Eemhaven area on the south bank
This relates in both cases to phytosanitary problems that call for
of the Maas, is at an advanced planning stage. The financing
an extra inspection regime at the Dutch growing and trading
provided by the municipality of Rotterdam for the major urban
companies. Highly constructive talks are being held between
development area becoming available at the old location forms
the growing organisations, the Dutch Produce Association, the
a serious obstacle. The new location is suitable for co-modal
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the PD,
transport. This involves transit by road, rail, inland shipping and
with the aim of overcoming these problems.
coastal shipping for incoming and outgoing transport flows.
Another example of an export embargo was Indonesia's stricter countries requirement for the import of Dutch onions. These
Another Frugi Venta initiative is the Frug I Com Foundation,
exports have been stopped since 1 November. This concerns
which has now existed for five years. Based on the 2009-2011
15 to 20,000 tons of onions a year. Frugi Venta and the PD are
Business Plan, sufficient financial clout has been obtained
seeking a solution.
through financial contributions from the Product Board for
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Priority in policy plan for national and international lobby
Horticulture and the Central Industry Board for Agricultural
overhaul in 2010.
Wholesale Trade in Fruit and Vegetables (HBAG). Space was
As well as the general members' meeting, the regular members'
created to add two specialists in the field of standardised data
meetings of the Committees function as a cornerstone of the
exchange in the supply chain from grower to shop shelf. Interest
contact with our members. This form of communication is
among companies has risen sharply now that German retailers in
regarded as being especially important by the onion trade and
particular are requiring the use of the Global Location Number
the fruit trade.
(GLN) on packagings. Frug I Com can assist members with the introduction.
Collective contracts
Sustainability
Frugi Venta offers its members attractive discounts for the collective procurement of many insurance policies of Zilveren
The Policy Plan's third priority was the promotion of sustainability,
Kruis Achmea, fuel, electricity and telecom services (Frug I Tel).
covering a wide range of subjects. The activities in this area can
By taking part in these procurement contracts members can earn
be divided into product-oriented subjects and themes relating to
back a large portion of the contribution (and in some cases
business operations.
more). Interest varies for each procurement contract, but shows a
The following interviews cover subjects including the
rising trend over the entire line.
development of an objective way of calculating the CO2
New items in 2009 included the collective procurement of gas at
footprint, participation in the 'Healthy Weight Agreement',
Eneco in combination with electricity and the incorporation of a
the reduction of freight kilometres, the upgrading of remnant
Frugi Venta non-life insurance service in cooperation with Meèus.
waste, intensive residue monitoring by Food Compass, the Mobility Centre for Wholesale in Fruit and Vegetables and the improvement of working conditions. All of these are initiatives involving the sustainability aspect.
Development of membership and its representativeness
Member commitment
The number of members fell in 2009 by 26 to 417 on 1 January 2010. Most of the departures can be attributed to companies
An association stands or falls on the quality of the relationship
ceasing trading and mergers or takeovers of companies. Most of
between the board, the staff and the members. As well as the
them are companies in the lower turnover groups.
collective lobbying touched on above, the individual service for
The representativeness of Frugi Venta decreased by just 1.3 per
the companies is of great significance to member commitment.
cent to 77.3 per cent.
The expertise function has been allotted an important position in the Policy Plan Health Trade. The staff, consisting of the director,
On 1 January 2010 780 wholesalers in fruit and vegetables with
three policy assistants and the communication manager, spend
a turnover in excess of € 0.5 million were registered with HBAG.
a lot of time each day on answering questions on many subjects
Their joint turnover in 2008 totalled € 12,458 million. In 2008
by email or telephone. The application of the CBA and labour
the 417 Frugi Venta members represented a turnover of € 9,628
law in general occupy a high position on the list of questions. The
million. The development of the membership since 2006 is shown
export problems with Russia and the USA and the stricter Food
in the table overleaf.
and Consumer Product Safety Authority inspections for imports from some third-countries also gave rise to many individual questions or comments from the members. Other recurring questions concerned the Packaging Tax in the Netherlands and Germany, the repeal of 26 of the 36 EU trading standards, the reduced or withdrawn credit limits of the credit insurers and the content of the Common Organisation of the Market for the fruit and vegetable sector GMO. The provision of information to the members is supported by the monthly digital newsletter and, increasingly, by our website. The website and our customer registration system are due for an
21
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
2006
2007
2008
2009
Number of Frugi Venta members
471
457
443
417
Joint turnover
€ 8.816 m
€ 9.667 m
€ 9.628 m
Not known
% of national turnover
77,90%
78,60%
77,30%
Not known
The table below shows the representativeness of the Frugi Venta membership on 1 January 2010, broken down by turnover group and based on turnover in 2008. Frugi Venta proportionally has the most members in the highest turnover group. That explains the high total representativeness level.
Total number of registered
Frugi Venta members
wholesale companies*
Turnover in millions of euros
Quantity per 1-1-10
Turnover 2008
Quantity per 1-1-10
Turnover 2008
Representativeness based on turnover
up to € 0.5 m
718
€ 61 m
54
€ 10 m
16%
€ 0.5 to € 2.5 m
327
€ 418 m
77
€ 113 m
27%
€ 2.5 to € 5 m
147
€ 531 m
68
€ 245 m
46%
€ 5 to € 7.5 m
55
€ 331 m
37
€ 225 m
68%
€ 7.5 to € 10 m
37
€ 320 m
25
€ 218 m
68%
€ 10 to € 12.5 m
32
€ 355 m
19
€ 211 m
59%
€ 12.5 to € 25 m
72
€ 1,294 m
51
€ 920 m
71%
€ 25 to € 50 m
49
€ 1,744 m
34
€ 1,181 m
68%
over € 50 m
61
€ 7,404 m
52
€ 6,505 m
88%
1.498
€ 12,458 m
417
€ 9,628 m
77%
Total * Source: HBAG fruit and vegetables
22
Priority in policy plan for national and international lobby
23
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Gerrit Bergwerff
24
Capsicum exports restored following successful lobby "There's always something in trade. Too expensive, too cheap, too early, too late, poor quality, too big, too small, and so on. That's all well and good, but you have to be up to it." Those are the words of Gerrit Bergwerff, responsible at The Greenery for sales to America. September 2009 was no exception: a moth, found in the habanero capsicums. That resulted in an export ban to America for capsicums and peppers with effect from 1 October. Not least thanks to the lobby efforts of Frugi Venta, it was announced at the end of 2009 that the export ban would be lifted at the beginning of 2010. Effective protocol
Actually, Gerrit Bergwerff would rather not see his picture in a 'magazine'. None the less, he was pleased to cooperate out of respect for Inge Ribbens, policy assistant at Frugi Venta and
It is not the first time that America has closed its borders to Dutch
responsible for the America portfolio. "Inge is a star. She has
capsicums. A few years back we had a similar incident, which
the gift of being able to communicate correctly and clearly at
also resulted in America demanding certain measures. For
the right moments with all parties to make sure that things get
many years the shipments were accompanied by phytosanitary
done. Although success would not have been possible without
certificates. Even though the false codling moth was found in
the cooperation of the other parties - the Ministry of Agriculture,
the peppers and not in the capsicums, America regarded them
Nature and Food Quality, the PD and P8 - 95 per cent can be
as being a single family. "That's true in phytosanitary terms",
attributed to her efforts. Frugi Venta plays a pivotal role in the
acknowledges Gerrit Bergwerff. "In trade terms capsicums and
gathering of knowledge and arguments from all parties involved
peppers are regarded as 2 separate products. In view of the
and then clearly sets them out", says Gerrit Bergwerff. Frugi
past experiences it was expected that the Ministry of Agriculture,
Venta does this in close cooperation with the Agriculture ministry
Nature and Food Quality and the Plant Protection Service would
people at the Dutch Embassy in Washington.
have to provide an explanation in America. But that turned out to be unnecessary. There is a sound analysis report from the PD
25
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Approved
and a well-substantiated protocol for demonstrating that the false codling moth is not present in the greenhouse when growing begins. Continuous monitoring based in traps among growers
The good news for capsicum exports was announced roughly at
and exports is also carried out during the growing and logistics
the same time as the bad news about tomato exports to America.
process in order to constantly demonstrate that the false codling
In this case Tuta absoluta is the culprit. "This is a problem we saw
moth is not present. That has gone down well in America and has
coming a mile off, and which is harder to tackle than the codling
resulted in the borders being reopened."
moth in the capsicums. That really was an isolated incident, whereas Tuta absoluta has been found in several places. The trouble is that Tuta absoluta originates form Spain, where they
Lobby activities
have not got it under control. For as long as products continue to arrive from Spain, there will be a chance of Tuta absoluta
"Unfortunately we have to provide phytosanitary certificates
arriving with them." To prevent Tuta absoluta from reaching the
for all shipments. That involves extra costs and reduces our
US, they have set strict standards for tomato exports. Companies
competitive strength compared with other countries. Perhaps
are only permitted to export tomatoes to the US if the shipment
we can change the situation next year by doing a bit of lobby
is accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate showing that the
work. We hope that the rules will be relaxed if we demonstrate
tomatoes originate from an area that is free of Tuta absoluta or
that it really was an isolated incident and that the matter is now
that they have been grown using the growing system approved
under control." Where prices are concerned, Gerrit Bergwerff
by the US. The Netherlands is unable to meet either requirement,
cannot remember a previous year that was as bad for capsicums
and has therefore not been able to export tomatoes to the US
as 2009. "It was an exceptionally fertile year, which resulted
since 1 February 2010.
in an average of ten per cent more production. Add to that
Frugi Venta is working on a solution in close cooperation with
the reduced buying power in important markets like Great
all parties involved. It takes a few months before an area can be
Britain and Russia and the substantially increased acreage in
declared free of Tuta absoluta. Only then can tomato exports to
recent years and it will be clear that there was simply too much
America be resumed.
product." On 2009 15,500 tons of Dutch capsicums were exported to the US up to 1 October. In 2008 that was over 10,000 tons. Including Canada, exports to North America in 2008 totalled 15,000 tons and to 1 October 2009 20,700 tons.
26
Capsicum exports restored following successful lobby
National and international lobby in 2009 As well as maintaining capsicum and tomato exports to America, there were various other subjects that called for Frugi Venta's attention in the lobby area. It is not for nothing that lobby activities have been given high priority in the policy plan 'Healthy Trade 2009 - 2011'.
insurance. The scheme was continued and even improved in 2010.
Admission of Citrex for import products Citrex is used to prevent stem rot in bananas and consists mainly of organic acids. In 2009 Frugi Venta exerted a lot of pressure to have Citrex admitted to the appendix listing permitted pesticides
Export barrier Russia
in Regulation 889/2008. The efforts were ultimately rewarded.
In 2009 a lot of meetings were held between various Dutch parties and the Russian authorities. Frugi Venta organised a
NMa on the lookout for price-fixing
number of information meetings for members and non-members
In 2009 the Netherlands Competion Authority (NMa) published
to inform them about the situation concerning the Russian
a report on the findings of an investigation into the division of the
Memorandum of Understanding introduced in 2008, in which
margin in the supply chain. The report gave an impression that
strict MRL requirements are set. The members were also kept
the big difference between the selling price for the grower and
informed by email, via the newsletter and the website. 2009
the retail price can be attributed mainly to the high costs of the
saw the institution of the Russia Working Committee, with
intermediate trade. Frugi Venta has expressed doubts about how
representatives of affiliated companies.
the calculations were made and is considering having a second
More information about Russia and the related lobby activities is
study carried out that presents a clearer image of the margins in
given at www.frugiventa.nl.
the trade. The NMa has also looked into whether there has been price-
Indonesia
fixing among trading companies and growers' associations. Frugi
With effect from 1 November 2009 the Plant Protection Service
Venta has organised legal assistance for the parties involved and
stopped issuing phytocertificates for onions for exports to
has engaged specialists in the field of European competition law.
Indonesia. No more onions have been exported to Indonesia since that date. The export ban is in response to Indonesia's new
Pest Risk Analysis for pears, China
country requirements, which Dutch onions are unable to meet.
In 2008 representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature
Frugi Venta has done its utmost to find a solution as quickly as
and Food Quality presented in China a Pest Risk Analysis for
possible in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature
pears in order to facilitate exports to China. Follow-up talks were
and Food Quality and the Plant Protection Service. A full process
held on this subject in 2009. China has seriously considered
description on Dutch onions has been drawn up in consultation
the application. A list of 132 pests, moulds and insects has
with a number of companies for this purpose. However it is
been drawn up, fifteen of which are said to represent potential
expected to take some time before Indonesia responds.
problems. China has sent additional questions and requirements to the Netherlands. Frugi Venta is consulting with the Plant
TASK credit insurance
Protection Service on a follow-up strategy.
In 2009 the cabinet approved the proposal of the ministers of Finance and Economic Affairs to institute a temporary, supplementary state insurance arrangement (TASK). Frugi Venta was indirectly involved in the VNO-NCW's government lobby. TASK gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to supplement the reduced credit limits faced by companies under their credit
27
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Erik Postuma
28
“It won't be easy, but doing nothing is not an option� Frugi Venta is setting out to contribute to adding more value to the wholesale in fruit and vegetables by carrying out studies and research and by promoting mutual vertical cooperation. Although according to Erik Postuma of the IJsselmuiden wholesaler's of the same name the wholesale trade does not attach much value to networking, he has nothing but praise for the meetings that Frugi Venta organised for domestic wholesalers in 2009.
These were dominated by the development of a new shop
joined VAST, a group of wholesalers that jointly buys products
formula. The wholesale sector is thus hoping to contribute to
and has developed various market campaigns for the affiliated
a healthy retail trade. Wholesaler Postuma of IJsselmuiden
companies.
concentrates fully on vegetable specialists, both ambulant traders
Competition is healthy
and specialist businesses. Postuma's renovation plans point out that this remains a formula with growth potential. "In fact, you're six months too early", says Erik Postuma. What he means
According to Erik Postuma the time is right to take the next
is the renovation that is now ongoing and will be completed in
step. He believes that the initiative to join other retailers in
about six months. "We were a stable company for many years,
considering the options for the development of a forward-
but too small for the future. That's why we started to increase
looking shop format has come at precisely the right time. The
our sales area all those years ago. We stand out for the fact
meetings were prompted by a study commissioned by AGF
that we concentrate specifically on the specialty shops. That
Detailhandel Nederland (ADN) and the Centre for Knowledge
leaves us free to focus entirely on what that group needs. It is
and Development (CKO) and conducted into forward-looking
important to make sure that the specialist businesses succeed.
shop formats carried out by students of Avans Hogeschool
If customers do well, the procurement takes care of itself", says
in Den Bosch. Together with a number of wholesalers and
Erik Postuma. To give their customers extra added value Postuma
vegetable specialists, the group of students went on an excursion
29
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
to countries including Great Britain in order to view a number of shops. Erik Postuma was among the wholesalers who went on the trip. "During the talks we held with each other we came up with the idea of placing a shop format on the market. It is a good thing that Frugi Venta has taken the initiative to bring domestic wholesalers together and gauge their interest. I'm completely sold on the idea, but I also realise that we as wholesalers are sometimes ourselves the biggest barrier. Looking at the market, it's obvious that things will get difficult. But that doesn't mean we should give up. I hope that we'll get a result and produce something worthwhile. Mutual competition is a good thing, it keeps us on our toes. As long as there's a level playing field there's nothing to complain about."
Property developers Despite all the initiatives for shop formats in recent years, the number of specialist businesses has been declining for years. Do they have any chance of success now? "It is certainly not the idea to compete with other formats. But it is important to achieve national cover", says Erik Postuma. He also attaches a lot of importance to placing something on the market that enables young entrepreneurs to start, that provides them with support. He also regards it as a task for a collective to negotiate with property developers. "As things stand, the supermarkets are first in line when new shop space is available. But we as the vegetable trade will also have to join the negotiations in the future. But that doesn't mean that Erik Postuma would like to see a meeting culture brought into being. He realises that someone will have to take a lead. "Who that will be and how the new shop format will be shaped is something we will look into and expect to implement in 2010 with a small group of five wholesalers and professional advisors." But Erik Postuma does not yet have any great commercial expectations for 2010. "Consumer spending remains completely different from the situation two years ago. Most consumers are spending less. Fortunately, there remains a group with more disposable income that is willing to spend it."
30
“It won't be easy, but doing nothing is not an option�
Chain cooperation A project that fits comfortably under the heading supply chain cooperation is the IPC study that has been carried out. But others include the Fresh Corridor project in which various supply chain parties work together, Horizontal Toezicht Douane ('Horizontal Customs Supervision') and collective trade exhibition submissions. Only the IPC study is explained in more detail here. The other subjects are covered elsewhere in this annual report.
Innovation Performance Contract In 2009 a preliminary Innovation Performance Contract study for fruit processing companies was carried out in the context of IPC subsidies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs provides subsidies for innovative projects. Frugi Venta is the project treasurer. The project is being implemented by consultancy TDI. The preliminary IPC study has led to a subsidy application being made for 25 companies. The application was submitted to Senter Novem at the beginning of 2010. The participants include many fruit processing company suppliers.
31
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Rein Osinga
32
"First the facilities, then the profits will follow" In the logistics area Frugi Venta will be giving priority to the Fresh Corridor project from 2009 - 2011. The project was officially launched in 2008, and is contributing to the reduction of road congestion and CO2 emissions. That includes transport by inland shipping rather than by road. A pilot was launched in 2009. Some 300 containers were transported by ship from the Rotterdam port to Ridderhaven or even beyond, to Venlo.
Inland shipping
Rein Osinga, chairman of Fresh World Barendrecht, and employed at T. van Noort at the trade centre in Ridderkerk makes his point crystal clear. "Congestion on the roads network
Fresh Corridor consists of ten sub-processes. More information
is a big problem. Although it seems a bit quieter right now owing
about these sub-processes is given at www.freshcorridor.nl. By
to the economic crisis, the A15 is congested for most of the day.
developing this website, which was launched in November
Looking five years ahead, we expect the situation to become
2009, Frugi Venta has taken an important step in the provision of
much worse. The same applies to other roads around the various
information about Fresh Corridor.
trade centres. For that reason, in partnership with the Province
In the second half of 2009 a pilot was launched in which
of Zuid-Holland, Maersk Line, APM-terminals and Groeneboom
264 containers were transported from Rotterdam to Ridderhaven
BV and with the support of Amsterdam Consultants, Fresh
using inland vessels. The companies involved in this pilot included
World Barendrecht has launched a pilot to establish whether
4Fruit Company, Bakker Barendrecht, HagĂŠ/The Greenery,
more containers can be transported to Ridderhaven by ship.
Hispafruit, Jaguar the fresh company, Solfruit, Van Ooijen Citrus,
The project has turned out to have a lot in common with Fresh
Verdi Import, Bakker & Leenheer, Zoutewelle and H.M. de Jong,
Corridor, the project for which Frugi Venta is acting as treasurer.
koel- en vrieshuis. Transport via inland waterways has at least
In 2009 the project was placed in Fresh Corridor and now forms
saved them a lot of time.
part of the sub-project for the Maasroute Rotterdam - Venlo."
33
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Containers that arrive at Maasvlakte 3 o'clock in the morning
agreement was signed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
continue directly to Ridderhaven and arrive there at 6 o'clock.
Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the
The customs and phytosanitary matters are immediately
Province of Zuid-Holland and the municipalities of Rotterdam,
arranged there, after which the products are available", explains
Ridderkerk and Barendrecht concerning the development of the
Rein Osinga.
area. "Ridderkerk's municipal council has made it clear which type of company can establish itself in Nieuw-Reijerwaard. The companies must have links with the fruit and vegetable sector.
Betuwe line
Unfortunately, the economic situation is making traders a bit reticent about saying how much space they will need within a
An important element of Fresh Corridor is the relocation
few years."
of the Fruit Port from Merwehaven to Waal-Eemhaven. "Concentrating all logistics on the South Bank fits in perfectly
Hub in Germany
with the development of the Maasroute. That also applies to the Greenports Venlo and Geldermalsen. If sufficient facilities are provided on the Maasroute, the profits will follow", insists Rein
Despite all of the Greenports developments, Rein Osinga
Osinga. He does however see more obstacles at transport by
believes that Fresh World Barendrecht will remain the centre
train via the Betuwe line. "In essence it is possible to transport
of distribution for vegetables and fruit in the future. "Greenport
products via the Betuwe line, but the rail network around
Westland Oostland was recently extended with Barendrecht
Barendrecht lacks the facilities for unloading trains. It seems
and Ridderkerk. Westland is very important to local production.
technically very difficult to create a side track. Inland shipping
Many products grown in Noord-Holland are driven to Westland
gives us much more flexibility."
for packaging and distribution. Oostland, the area covering
Although the 2009 pilot was promising, Osinga believes that
Bergschenhoek, Bleiswijk and Berkel Rodenrijs, is also focused
the recession is causing companies to take a cautious approach
on local production. In Barendrecht and Ridderkerk the focus is
to fitting inland shipping into their range of logistics. "But once
placed on import, with a local production component."
the economy picks up again, developments could move very
Looking ahead ten years Rein Osinga is not yet certain whether
quickly."
the export areas in Eastern Europe will continue to be served to a significant extent from Barendrecht/Ridderkerk. "It might be necessary to have a hub in Germany which can be reached by
Reticence
inland shipping, after which products can be transported to their final destinations by lorry. Fresh Corridor is a good starting point
In 2009 Frugi Venta also contributed to organising an
for this."
information meeting on the restructuring of the NieuwReijerwaard region, which borders on the trade centre in Barendrecht/Ridderkerk. In the same year an administrative
34
“First the facilities, and the profits will follow�
Logistics and standardisation Number 2 in Fresh Top 100 During the Fresh Rotterdam trade exhibition Fresh Corridor took second place in the Fresh Top 100. This list contains the pick of the Dutch fresh foods sector. The companies and joint ventures in the Fresh Top 100 are not only innovative or successful, but are also considered to be an example to others and pioneers.
Agro Peper 2009 On Monday 23 November, Willem Baljeu, official secretary of the Fresh Corridor project, was presented with the public award Agro Peper 2009 at the concluding conference of the Year of Agrologistics. A total of 34 projects had been nominated. Fresh Corridor was one of the eighteen projects that presented itself at the AgroParade. Agro Peper is an initiative of the Agrologistics Platform that identifies the most innovative and dynamic project in the field of Agrologistics.
Fresh Corridor Roadshows In 2009 Frugi Venta organised two roadshows to publicise the Fresh Corridor project. The purpose of the roadshow is to create awareness and provide general information about the Fresh Corridor project to potential stakeholders. Reducing the number of lorry kilometres by using alternatives such as inland shipping calls for a considerable change in mentality at the operational level of fruit and vegetable companies. The roadshow also makes it possible to exchange thoughts about the best strategy to follow.
Frug I Com Standardisation is the showpiece of the Frug I Com foundation. In 2009 the focus was placed on implementing standardisation within the companies. Two employees were taken on for this purpose. The secretariat of Frug I Com moved in 2009 to Zoetermeer at the Product Board for Horticulture. For more information: www.frugicom.nl.
35
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Miguel Gonzalez Frank Vermeeren
36
(L)
(R)
“Give companies much more responsibility� The Netherlands has a good reputation to uphold in the areas of quality and food safety. In common with the phytosanitary aspects, securing all of those standards involves a lot of paperwork. Various projects have been initiated to simplify and digitise the administration. They include Horizontal Customs Supervision, Plantkeur and CLIENT Import. A company that frequently takes part in pilot projects is Hispafruit in Barendrecht.
Coordination
Pineapple is one of the most important products of importer Hispafruit in Barendrecht. "During peak season we regularly receive fifty containers a week", says Miguel Gonzalez,
As an importer it is very important to Hispafruit that all customs
Hispafruit's managing director. To guarantee consistent quality,
formalities, phytosanitary and quality checks are properly
Hispafruit has its own production areas in Costa Rica. "For that
coordinated and can be completed as inexpensively as
purpose we've mapped out the entire process from growing
possible. As far as Miguel Gonzalez and Frank Vermeeren are
onwards. For retailers that sometimes opens doors that would
considered, more responsibility for that should be placed with the
otherwise remain closed. The retail sector attaches great
companies. Quality manager Frank Vermeeren knows better than
importance to traceability. We know where our products come
most that the efficient settlement of formalities and checks can
from, when they are harvested, the temperature at which they're
contribute to optimum logistics and cost control. "The gearing
transported and the agents that are used during cultivation."
of phytosanitary checks to quality checks has been an ongoing
Other important products for Hispafruit include melons, grapes
issue for years. Frugi Venta has provided a lot of support in
and citrus fruits.
recent years", says Frank Vermeeren. He is referring to CLIENT Import and Plantkeur. Hispafruit has been using CLIENT Import
37
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
to its complete satisfaction for years. As a result of Plantkeur it is
Frank Vermeeren also sees the benefits of the Horizontal
no longer necessary for two inspectors to arrive for one and the
Customs Supervision (HTD) project. This project involves linking
same batch - the phytosanitary and quality checks can now be
governmental systems to the logistics systems of companies with
carried out by the same person. That means one less inspector
the aim of saving time and reducing costs. "That has added
under your feet. Hispafruit has not yet gained any experience
value, especially taken in conjunction with AEO status. We are at
with CLIENT Export, but is looking forward to starting with the
an advanced stage of AEO certification. An important motive for
pilot. In December 2009 a contract was signed between the
doing this was the guarantee that containers would be scanned
government and various market parties, including Frugi Venta.
within 24 hours. HTD can only succeed if participating certified
CLIENT Export is due to be rolled out at a number of pilot
companies are given more freedom."
companies in 2010.
Trading standards
Original documents
Despite strong protests from Frugi Venta and the European Many products imported in the Netherlands have been
umbrella organisation Freshfel, the trading standards for
subjected to comprehensive quality checks in their country of
26 of the 36 products were abolished in 2009. By doing this
origin. The same applies to phytosanitary inspections. "The
the European agriculture ministers are setting out to reduce the
trouble is that products with containers arrive at the same time.
burden and make it possible to place goods that are labelled
The number of inspectors means that the peak cannot be cleared
Class 2 because of their appearance on the market. In practice,
very quickly. That sometimes means that it takes a long time
this has turned out sooner to increase the burden. The quality
before you are given the papers you need", explains Frank
requirements for 26 products were abolished on 1 July 2009,
Vermeeren. "In the retail sector, on the other hand, there is a tight
but that has been replaced by a general inspection. I now have
routine. Six hours is six hours. It's a bit like a bus timetable: if we
to present my pineapples for inspection, which hadn't been
don't arrive on time we miss the logistics connection at DC level
subject to an import inspection for years", says Frank Vermeeren.
and the goods have to be subsequently delivered using special
"And the same applies to many more products that previously
transport. Giving more responsibility to the companies increases
did not need to be inspected. It will go without saying that this
control of the logistics flow, makes you more reliable in relation
involves extra costs." Frugi Venta has raised the problem with
to your suppliers and can reduce the costs. Regulators demand
the government. The inspection frequency for products covered
original paper documents. To Frank Vermeeren, that is a thorn in
only by the general trading standards was lowered in December
his side. "It isn't in keeping with the digital age we live in now."
2009. This has reduced the complaints of Frugi Venta members,
That opinion is shared by Frugi Venta. The subject is regularly
but has not completely stopped them.
raised during meetings with governmental bodies such as the Plant Protection Service and the Quality Control Agency.
38
“Give companies much more responsibility�
Little disruption international trade Promoting the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables in the trade channel and for consumers. Managing food safety and monitoring plant health whilst minimising disruption to international trade are included among the spearheads in Frugi Venta's policy plan 'Healthy Trade 2009 - 2011'. It makes sense for Frugi Venta to initiate and/or support projects in this area. Where necessary, Frugi Venta also acts as an intermediary for financial issues.
Financing of quality inspections It was decided in 2009 that the quality inspections would no longer be financed by the levies collected by the Product Board for Horticulture. Companies now receive a direct invoice for the inspections for third-country imports and exports. The companies also receive a bill based on their risk category from the Quality Control Agency for the structural supervision.
Signing of CLIENT Export At the end of December Secretary General Van der Zande (Ministry of Agriculture), Willem Baljeu (Frugi Venta), Robert Rodenburg (VGB), Martien de Graaf (Quality Control Agency) and Jan Lanning (HBAG flowers) signed the Memorandum of Understanding CLIENT flowers, vegetables and fruit. The parties regarded this as a milestone in which the government and the private sector commit themselves to the building and roll-out of CLIENT Export for these sectors. "We as a trade organisation subscribe to the importance of CLIENT Export", says Willem Baljeu. "As a sector we are also concerned with logistics processes." One of the sub-processes involves the interfacing of information systems in order to strengthen our international competitive position. We really need to strike out internationally now, and CLIENT Export could help us with that."
39
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Anneke van de Kamp
40
“Companies render more account to society� Any company that takes responsibility for the 3 Ps People, Planet and Profit regularly asks itself about the position occupied by sustainability in its business operations. Related subjects include Corporate Social Responsibility and the CO2 footprint. These are typical of the subjects for which the sector can seek collective solutions. Elements
In 99 per cent of all cases collective projects are financed by levies collected by the Product Board for Horticulture (PT). Frugi Venta works in close cooperation with the PT. The chairman
The activities in 2009 included working on CSR accreditation
of Frugi Venta has a seat on the board of the PT and the director
for the sector. The Product Board for Horticulture has been
and secretary on the Sector Committee for Fruit and Vegetables.
working in close cooperation with representatives from all
All submitted projects that are financed by levies are scrutinised
trade organisations in the chain in order to gain a clear image
by the Sector Committee and are only approved if the go-ahead
of the activities in each sector. "This is a first step in rendering
is given.
accountability to society as the horticulture chain. This will continue to be professionalised in the future. The report does not yet meet the international standards in the area of Corporate
Accountability
Social Responsibility. They are summarised in what is known as the GRI guidelines. More and more parties are demanding that
Anneke van de Kamp, head of Market & Innovation and deputy
accountability is arranged according to those guidelines." The PT
secretary at the Product Board for Horticulture, knows all about
has developed the tool MVOonderglas.nl for growing activities.
the sustainability projects that took place in 2009. "It is becoming
More information about this is given at www.mvoonderglas.nl.
more and more important for companies to render account to
With all the chains, the elements important to communicate
society. Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility play
sustainability to buyers have been considered. "We do not yet
an important role in that regard. This applies not only to the
have such a tool for the trade element, but it could be a very
fruit and vegetable sector but also to flowers, plants, bulbs and
useful instrument for companies to render account to society",
trees. When sectors combine their financial resources it becomes
says Anneke van de Kamp.
possible to finance large-scale projects that would cost too much individually", explains Anneke van de Kamp.
41
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Beans from Kenya
Health
A second hot item is the CO2-footprint. This concept has blown
Hot off the press: the theme vision 'Pure and Healthy', a
over from Great Britain, which can be regarded as the front
publication of the Product Board for Horticulture (PT) and
runner when it comes to reporting the CO2-footprint. There are
the GroentenFruit Bureau (VegetablesFruits Bureau (GFB)),
increasing signals to the effect that retailers are demanding that
sponsored by Frugi Venta. "Food and health are highly topical
products are labelled with a CO2-footprint. The CO2- footprint
in political and social circles. It is important for us as a sector
shows the level of greenhouse gas emission involved in the
to respond to this. It is a good thing that the Product Board for
production and transport of the goods. Financed by the Product
Horticulture and the GroentenFruit Bureau are partners in the
Board for Horticulture and the Ministry of Agriculture, the
Healthy Weight Agreement. That makes it possible for us to raise
research consortium Wageningen Universiteit & Research, Blonk
the health properties of fruit and vegetables at political level. The
Milieu Advies and Agri Information Partners have therefore
vision addresses how the sector has dealt with food and health
developed a method for the horticulture sector that can be used
up to now and how that can be done even better in the future.
to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions for products. During
One of the conclusions is that the benefits of consuming fruit and
the past two years Frugi Venta and other parties have focused
vegetables can be communicated more actively."
on how this calculation method should be given shape. The result is an internet application that all companies can use to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions ranging from pineapple from the Ivory Coast, beans from Kenya, apples from New Zealand to Dutch tomatoes and cucumbers. “Tesco has already expressed an interest in the CO2-Footprint and France is planning to make it compulsory�, says Anneke van de Kamp. Various other supermarket organisations have said that they currently have reservations about stating the CO2-Footprint on their labels.
42
“Companies render more account to society�
Other sustainability projects Environmental impact of biodegradable packagings On the request of the Biohandel Committee of Frugi Venta, the WUR initiated a study into the environmental impact of biodegradable packagings in 2009. The initial results were presented in January 2010 to a working group comprising representatives of a number of trade companies. The report sets out whether biodegradable packagings have environmental benefits compared to traditional packagings.
Fresh Corridor The chapter on Logistics and Standardisation includes a detailed report on the Fresh Corridor project. The aim is to transport goods by inland shipping and short-sea connections in order to reduce road congestion and lower CO2 emissions.
Onion peel compost usable as sustainable energy The Stichting Afzetbevordering Ui ('Onion Sales Promotion Foundation') founded at the beginning of 2009 by Frugi Venta has initiated a number of projects aimed at upgrading remnant products from onions. Research has shown that onion peel compost could make a significant contribution to soil remediation. Taking this a step further, the remnant products could be used for higher value options such as the extraction of natural colourings, use as a pesticide and the development of sustainable energy applications. The initial results are expected in 2010.
Accelerated degradation of residues on hard fruit In 2008 a study was launched into ways of degrading fruit residues after storage at an accelerated rate. The research proposal was submitted to the PT by the Dutch Product Association with the support of Frugi Venta and the National Farmers Organisation (NFO). One of the subjects studied was whether additions to the cleaning water enhances the effect when residues are broken down. This could have a favourable effect on the ability to meet the Russian MRL requirements. There have already been favourable results with UV, O3 and H2O2. The project will be continuing in 2010.
43
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Ron de Greef
(L)
Lydia Duijvestein
44
(R)
“It's normal to us, but it isn't a matter of course� Good working conditions, opportunities to develop and commensurate wage levels play an important role in the recruitment and retention of employees in our sector. But the economic conditions led to extremely laborious CBA negotiations with the unions in 2009. On the other hand, progress was made on various fronts in the areas of working conditions and training. Lydia Duijvestein and Ron de Greeff of Langfruit BV tell us about the activities in 2009. Ron de Greeff is managing director of Langfruit Ltd., a member
We were however able to reach agreement quickly on other
of the board of Frugi Venta and involved in that capacity in the
aspects, such as setting up a mobility centre in case there are any
CBA negotiations. As quality manager of Langfruit, Lydia
compulsory redundancies. It is important to bear in mind that the
Duijvestein is involved in the development of the occupational
wage costs account for a large part of the product price. A one
health and safety catalogue.
per cent pay rise costs 0.5 per cent profit, and the market is not
Ron de Greeff held various rounds of negotiation with the unions
ready for that." Ron de Greeff also points out that other CBAs
together with other members of the CBA Negotiations
are always taken into account too. "There must always be a
Committee. The negotiation results are always referred first to the
balance between what the business allows and what is going on
CBA Negotiations consultative group. The final offer is approved
in the market. Most people can live with the result: a one-off,
only if the proposed CBA is approved by the majority.
1 per cent of the fixed annually salary." The approved CBA is effective until1 April 2010.
Agreement
Profit
In 2009 Ron de Greeff experienced the effects of the recession on the negotiating position. "We are going through an economic
Economic developments in 2010 are important to the CBA
crisis, and that has repercussions in the CBA discussion. The
negotiations due to recommence in the summer of 2010. "Let's
sector is undergoing a difficult period. That means that there is no
hope that the contraction is behind us by then. But even then we
pay bargaining range, and that doesn't help the negotiations.
won't be having a growing and flourishing economy", says Ron
45
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
de Greeff. You can't spend money you haven't got." Ron de
purchase the step platform at cost price via Frugi Venta.
Greeff notes that pensions in the Netherlands are reasonably
Experiences with the step platform vary between companies. It at
well provided for compared to many other countries. "The
least provides a solution to the problem of high lifting, which the
problem is the returns on the invested capital. These days, the
Occupational Health and Safety Executive has approved. "Our
discussion is about: reducing benefits, raising premiums or raising
step platform is doing sterling work at a small scale", says Lydia
the retirement age. "Let's just start by having everyone carry on
Duijvestein.
working until they are 65 - that's where the biggest gain is to be found. In my opinion the government is setting precisely the
Interest
wrong example by allowing many people to take early retirement." The fruit and vegetable sector has its own pension fund, the Bpf
The Fresh Park Business School was opened in Venlo at the end
AVH, which is chaired by Frugi Venta secretary Leo Welschen. In
of 2008. This continued to be given shape in 2009. The Fresh
2009 the cover level of the pension commitments at Bpf AVH
Park Business School was set up and implemented with the
rose from 104 per cent at the beginning of the year to 110.8 per
assistance of Cees Schoenmakers and Erik Zwiers of the
cent at the end of the year. The increase in life expectancy
AGF-Groothandelsfonds. Langfruit was involved in this as well.
means that this cover level needs to be lowered by 4 per cent in
"In the trade area everyone went his or her own way in the
January 2010. Despite that, there is space to index the pension
training area", says Ron de Greeff. We started the Fresh Park
claims for active members by 1.95 per cent on 1-1-2010.
Business School to better meet the need for training at Fresh Park Venlo. The key point was that companies would need to call only one person who could advise them on all possible forms of
Health and Safety Inspectorate approval
courses and training and arrange for them to take part, either at the company, at the industrial site or beyond. There is a very wide range of options. There are alternatives for BBL
As well as the CBA and pension, working conditions are at least
apprenticeships, for example. That gives students the chance to
as important to attracting and retaining personnel. At Langfruit
study and work simultaneously. This gives people already
this is mainly the domain of Lydia Duijvestein. Her official job title
working at one of the trade companies the possibility to continue
is Quality Manager, but that does not quite cover it. In actual
their educational development," says Ron de Greeff. He has
fact, everything other than logistics, commerce and procurement
noticed that much more knowledge is needed than before. "It
crosses my desk", says Lydia Duijvestein. "Obviously that includes
used to be enough to place a cover over a crate of tomatoes.
quality, but also working conditions, company emergency
These days we have to deal with tracking & tracing, GLN codes,
services and work placement supervision. That keeps my work
EDI, Frug I Com and residue inspections. To us that is completely
especially varied." Lydia Duijvestein was one of the members of
normal, but it is not a matter of course. There have also been
the health and safety catalogue working group. One of the
changes in the commercial area. It used to be enough to sell
specific focal points was finding a solution to the problem of
things, but now we have to target customers much more
'high lifting'. "At Langfruit we had been talking to two forklift truck
beforehand. Training could make that easier. As well as that, we
suppliers for years about the options of forklift trucks with flexible
set out to interest people outside of the sector in the fruit and
forks or a step. Once the Health and Safety Inspectorate had
vegetable trade." Fresh Park Business School has received a
established that high lifting was a problem at many companies,
3-year subsidy. Since then 18 months have passed. "The point is
the companies in question registered with Frugi Venta and a
to make sure that there is something in place in 18 months that
collective approach was taken." The consultancy VHP of The
can continue without a subsidy", says Ron de Greeff.
Hague was engaged for this purpose. That is a consultancy specialising in ergonomics. The result is the digital occupational health and safety catalogue www.gezondehandel.nl. This kills two birds with one stone: internal transport and high lifting. The development of 'step platforms' continued in 2009. Manufacturer Matador was the partner that decisively continued the development of the step platform. The Occupational Health and Safety Executive has looked into whether the platform meets all expectations in practice. An approved step platform is now available. Members of the AGF-Groothandelsfonds can
46
“It's normal to us, but it isn't a matter of course�
47
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
From left to right Willem Baljeu, Frugi Venta; Shawn Harris, Nature’s Pride; Leo Welschen, Frugi Venta and Tom den Hertogh, Frug I Com.
48
Collective contracts: price benefits and support Frugi Venta is setting out to gain benefits for its members with collective services. That works both ways. For suppliers, Frugi Venta with some four hundred affiliated members is an interesting party for attracting customers. For the members, taking part in one of the many collective contracts can be a way of earning back some if not more than all of the contribution.
Dependence on the telephone
There are plenty of examples of companies that receive a bigger discount on the collective contracts that Frugi Venta has taken out with suppliers and service providers than the subscription
Companies can achieve substantial savings on their telephone
they pay. The telephone subscriptions via Frugi Tel in particular
bills by taking part in the collective telephone subscription via
provide a number of members with large benefits. We as
Frug I Tel. One of the companies that has been using this facility
Frugi Venta believe that the rationale of the organisation should
since it began is import and export company Total Produce in
not depend on the member benefits, but it's certainly no bad
Rotterdam. Marja Roodenburg has been responsible for the
thing if we can also help our members out financially that
telephone contracts for fifteen years at Total Produce, formerly
way. There are collective contracts in the areas of insurance,
Velleman en Tas. "In fact I don't know any different than using
telephony, fuel, credit insurance, accident insurance, electricity
Frug I Tel for both landline and mobile telephony. We recently
and office supplies.
switched to Galaxy for our mobile telephones. Although a change such as that always involves some teething troubles, it all
The collective telecom contracts are accommodated in the
went fairly smoothly. It's always important to start by making sure
foundation Frug I Tel (see pages 60, 61). In recent years
that their approach is in line with how we do our administration.
Frugi Venta has also developed initiatives in the areas of residue
The service provided by Galaxy is good. We have however
monitoring, digital supply chain information and the supervision
heard that the charges will probably be changing again, and I
of employees with occupational disabilities. These have all
assume that Frug I Tel will return to this."
been placed in separate foundations. In 2009 Frugi Venta
Marja Roodenburg regularly monitors mobile telephone
set up Stichting Afzetbevordering Ui ('Onion Sales Promotion
providers and has come to the conclusion that the advantages
Foundation') with Zuver.
of scale of joint procurement via Frug I Tel are such that it is still worth taking part. But the price isn't the most important thing:
49
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
that's the quality. "In our business we depend on our telephones.
provided. Valstar Holland, a division of the Best Fresh Group,
By taking part in Frug I Tel we also benefit from our membership
has used the Sickness Absence Support Centre RAG since its
of Frugi Venta. I sometimes wonder whether other companies
inception. That has been to the complete satisfaction of Diane
are making enough use of this. I expect in the future that the
van der Valk, P&O assistant at Valstar. "It's very reassuring
telephone system will change in such a way that everyone has
to receive support concerning the Eligibility for Permanent
a single telephone for landline and mobile calls. That will be
Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act. The proactive approach
integrated in turn in the IT system, which is outside of my remit",
of Remedium is a big advantage. It provides clear pointers for
says Marja Roodenburg.
monitoring an employee's course of sickness."
Competitive price
Advantage
In the insurance area for healthcare, sickness absence and
As well as the collective contracts mentioned above, Frugi Venta
income, Frugi Venta has taken out a group contract with
has signed a contract with Atradius for credit insurance. Although
Zilveren Kruis Achmea. That makes it possible for members to
credit insurance was a subject of heated debate in 2009, there
benefit from attractive discounts on insurance premiums and
are always certain benefits to taking it out. The same applies
a reduction in paperwork. The policies for which the group
to the fuel contracts under which companies can apply for a
agreements have been made are: healthcare insurance, sickness
fuelling pass that provides them with a discount at Esso, Tamoil,
absence insurance, sickness absence support centre Remedium
BP and Total. For office supplies there is a framework contract
Agrarische Groothandel, the Return to Work (Partial Disabled)
with Staples Express. The most commonly used office supplies
Regulations Exit Insurance ('WGA-Uitstapverzekering') and an
can be ordered here at a discount. A list of net prices can be
occupational disability policy. Rijn Trading in 's-Gravenzande is
obtained from the secretariat of Frugi Venta.
one of those taking part in the group contracts. Jan Langenberg, who is responsible at Van Rijn for taking out insurance regards
Vpak return
as the most important benefits the competitive price and the low-threshold contact with the account manager at Zilveren Kruis Achmea. "It is by no means the case that everything is going as
Packaging tax does not really come under the collective service
smoothly as it might, but the contact with Willem Schonenberg of
heading. But that doesn't alter the fact that Frugi Venta has
Zilveren Kruis Achmea is very pleasant. He is very approachable
devoted a lot of time to sector-wide approach to packaging tax
and looks for solutions if problems arise." Van Rijn participates
returns. A company that makes grateful use of the expertise of
in the sickness plan insurance for five of the seven operating
secretary Leo Welschen is T. van Noort in Ridderkerk. "It was
companies and recently signed up two operating companies for
immediately clear as soon as the packaging tax was introduced
the WGA-Uitstapverzekering.
that it was an impossible system for the sector", says Hans Flach, finance director at Van Noort. "A working group was instituted to consider a collective scheme. Personally I had no
Support
further involvement in that. Changes were introduced on several occasions during the course of the year. Even with the aid of the
The Sickness Absence Support Centre Remedium Agrarische
website the tax return system remained unclear to me as a whole.
Groothandel (RAG) relieves companies of a large part of the
Leo Welschen was able to completely clarify the situation", says
administrative burden. RAG provides professional assistance
Hans Flach. But he still takes the view that the packaging tax is
with meeting the requirements of the Eligibility for Permanent
an impossible system. "But there's nothing Frugi Venta can do
Incapacity Benefit (Restrictions) Act, quickly responds to and
about that."
anticipates sickness reports, advises on and arranges support during the reintegration process, and, if required, provides waiting list mediation and arranges the contributions of the insurer or the UWV employee insurance agency for the support
50
Collective contracts: price benefits and support
51
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Philippe Binard
52
“It is stronger to present the European approach� It is a good thing to speak with one voice as the European fruit and vegetable trading sector. To achieve mutual coordination with other European member states, Frugi Venta is a member of the European trade organisation Freshfel, established in Brussels. Last year there were regular consultations on the Russian MRL requirements, the European School Fruit Programme, harmonisation of the MRLs and the new trading standards that came into effect in 2009. Philippe Binard, director of Freshfel, explains what Freshfel contributed in 2009 to supporting its members.
The members of Freshfel are national sector organisations and
that it's more effective to present the Russian authorities with a
large international trade conglomerates, such as Fyffes. In 2009
European approach to implementing the Memorandum of
Freshfel devoted a lot of time to coordinating consultations
Understanding. Although exports are still proving difficult, the
between its members concerning the approach to Russian
joint approach has at least resulted in the border not being
exports. A Memorandum of Understanding came into effect on
closed for a single day."
1 July 2008. All countries wishing to export to Russia are required to sign this document, thus agreeing to Russia's
Record year
extremely strict MRL requirements. Efforts have of course been made to relax the requirements in talks with the Russian authorities. "There was a serious lack of clarity at first", says
Freshfel's approach was initially aimed at finding out precisely
Philippe Binard. Different signals were being received from all
what the situation was regarding Russia. "We organised a lot of
countries. It is of course possible for a member state to go to
telephone meetings, for which parties including Frugi Venta
Russia and ask for bilateral talks. At Freshfel we take the view
provided input. There was also a pressing need for technical
53
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
analyses. Russia regularly changes its laws, and that has to be
money. In 2009 a number of meetings were held at the Product
analysed. It is also important to consider what Russia would do in
Board for Horticulture with representatives of the Ministry of
the context of the current protocol, which Russia does not always
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, various sector
keep to itself. That makes it even more tricky."
organisations and the VegetablesFruits Bureau. The regulations
Despite the credit crisis and the new MRL requirements, 2009
governing what can and cannot be financed with European
was a record year for volume in European terms. "The traditional
subsidies are proving so complicated that it seems almost
Western European exporters have lost ground to countries closer
impossible to actually get the campaign off the ground. Talks
to Russia, such as Poland. Last year Poland exported very large
with Freshfel's Working Group on Promotion have made it clear
volumes of apples to Russia. The apple has therefore topped the
that the Netherlands is not the only country facing this problem.
banana as the number 1 import product. Unfortunately the price
Other countries are also proving unable to implement projects
of the exported volume remained on the low side, which resulted
financed with European subsidies.
in the overall export value remaining lower than in the previous
"The most important aim of the school fruit programme is to bring
year", notes Philippe Binard.
about a change in eating habits", says Philippe Binard. To provide support, in 2009 the European Commission put a lot of work into a website in multiple languages that is used to
Smart gameplay
communicate many best practices. The costs of unhealthy eating to the European Union are estimated at 130 billion euros. It is
A second subject on which Freshfel focused sharply was the new
therefore worth giving a lot of publicity to the health aspects of
trading standards that came into effect on 1 July 2009. "Against
fruit and vegetables."
the will of most member states the European Commission decided to 'simplify' the trading standards. Their arguments
Platforms and networks
included more consumer choice, cheaper and easier. The fact that the sector was against the move in virtually all individual member states was ignored. With the support of its members, Freshfel clearly told the European Commission that the sector
Frugi Venta organises regular meetings to put members in
was against the change and that the projected savings were
contact with each other and to remain in contact with the
unrealistic. According to reports, the change would yield an
members as an organisation. Some of them are purely to
annual saving of 900 million euros. But it is sooner increasing
provide information. But the useful is often combined with
costs. Products that were previously not subject to inspection now
the enjoyable and meetings are closed with drinks or an
have to be accompanied by a document. Within Europe there is
informal dinner.
no uniform approach to the quality standards. The approach taken in the Netherlands is different from that in other member
The Fruit and Vegetable Debate in 2009
states. We are monitoring developments and waiting to see what
Frugi Venta opened the 'network year' with a New Year
will happen. There is even a debate about whether the ten
reception during the Fruit and Vegetable Debate 2009, which
remaining quality standards should be left in place." Philippe
was held for the second time at Het Zalmhuis in Rotterdam. Three
Binard believes that the big retailers are playing a smart game.
propositions were defended in the boxing ring. Willem Baljeu
"Legal action is being threatened. Since it is now possible to sell
debated with Thijs Jasperse, Uli Schnier of Biologica with Simon
many products unsorted and unclassified, a lot more product is
Rozema of Elsevier and Dick Meulblok of ADN with Franklin
available, which results in lower prices."
Ginus of Chiquita.
General Members' Meeting
Eating habits
Frugi Venta's 2009 AGM was held at De Lindenhof in Delft. The theme was 'opportunities in a time of crisis', how do we win over
In 2009 the European Commission made 90 million euros
consumers and the retail sector? The subject was introduced by
available to promote school fruit. That funding is not intended to
Jan Willem Grievink, director of the Food Service Institute. That
replace existing initiatives such as the Schoolgruit project or
was followed by a panel discussion chaired by Felix Meurders.
Campina at school (projects in which children are given fruit at
All links in the chain, from growing to the consumer, were
school), but to promote other initiatives. The Netherlands has
represented in the panel.
signed up for 1.25 million euros in European subsidies. This does however have to be matched by the same amount in 'Dutch'
54
“It is stronger to present the European approach”
Agri Ladies Day
European Mushroom Foundation. It has not (yet) proved possible
In January and November Frugi Venta organised an Agri Ladies
to reach agreement with all parties on financial participation.
Day in collaboration with the publications Vakblad Agf and
The mood among the traders is everybody or nobody. In the
Weekblad Groenten en Fruit. In January, fifty Agri Ladies visited
meantime, the first activities have been initiated, financed by
Kruidenier Foodservice in Rotterdam. Here a lecture was given
growing and industry.
by catering organisation Albron. The programme for November included a visit to Priva from De Lier and Koppert Cress in
CIEDL informed by email
Monster. At Priva, Meiny Prins, director of Priva and
In 2009 the members of the Import Export Third-Countries
Businesswoman of the year, gave a presentation on her business
Commission were kept informed of topical subjects such as
philosophy.
exports to Russia and the US primarily by email. The departure of Bram Verbaas from Fruitmasters left a vacancy for the position
Onion Trade Committee to tomato packer
of chairman, which was filled by Miguel Gonzalez of Hispafruit.
In December the Comité Uienhandel (Onion Trade Committee)
The Commission plans to organise another members' meeting in
held its annual members' meeting at Greenpack in Maasdijk. The
2010.
meeting was followed by a guided tour of the packing station. The onion traders were given all the information about subjects
New chairman at Vegetable processors
including traceability. The meeting was concluded with a buffet
The vegetable processors also had a new chairman in 2009.
at which there was ample opportunity to exchange thoughts in
The departing chairman, Simon Tol, for many years a member of
an informal setting.
Frugi Venta's board, was acclaimed at the General Members' Meeting with the Frugi Venta diamond. This is awarded to
Insight into the British organic market
people who have made an especially valuable contribution to
During Fresh Rotterdam the Comité Biohandel, or 'Biotrade
Frugi Venta. Edwin Noordermeer of Tuinderij Vers in Brielle was
Committee' held a meeting for all organic traders. Jan Groen,
elected as the new chairman of the Vegetable Processing
chairman of the Biotrade Committee, gave a presentation on the
Companies Committee.
committee's activities. Jeremy Deacon of market research office Deacon Endeavour was there as a special guest. He confirmed
Information meetings
the impression that British consumers are responding to the crisis
A number of subjects need to be communicated to the members
by taking a cautious approach to spending. "The effects of the
every now and then. In May, for instance, a meeting was held
crisis are much more noticeable in England than in the
for participants in Food Compass, and later in the year
Netherlands. 48 per cent of consumers say that they are buying
participants in Remedium Agrarische Groothandel sat down
less or no organic products." Deacon has also noticed an
together.
increase in the competition for organic products on various fronts: British organic production, kitchen gardens and Fair Trade
Young Frugi Venta Management Club
products. "Until 2007 retailer ASDA imported all of its organic
In 2009 three meetings were organised for the YFVMC. A visit
apples. Now they are all grown in Great Britain."
was paid to preservation plant HAK, a management course was given by Berendsen and Partners with the theme Time
Fruithandel members' meeting dominated by Russia
Management, and the year was concluded with sailing and water skiing at the Kager lakes.
The Comité Fruithandel, or 'Fruit Trade Committee' organised its annual members' meeting in Enspijk in November. Belgian
Holland Fresh Group Committee
exporter Kris Wouters frankly told the participants about the
With a view to the collective submissions to international trade
biggest obstacle to Russian exports: bureaucracy. According to
exhibitions such as the PMA, Asia Fruit Logistica and possibly
Wouters, this is even worse than the imposed residue
World Food in Moscow, Frugi Venta instituted the Holland Fresh
requirements. Henk Schouten of Plant Research International
Group Committee in 2008. Once or twice a year representatives
spoke about cisgenesis and its benefits to developing new apple
of affiliated companies, Frugi Venta, HBAG, GroentenFruit
and pear types.
Bureau and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality meet to discuss the strategy on trade exhibition participation. The
Mushroom trade Committee
aim of this is to reduce costs wherever possible and to present a
The meetings of the Mushroom Trade Committee were
recognisable image as a Dutch company without adversely
dominated by the subject of financial support for the plans of the
affecting the identity of the individual companies.
55
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Alexander Visser
56
“Selling because a product is good, not because you have a lot of it� The whole sector gains from a good image of the Netherlands as a trading and production country for fruit and vegetables. There are various ways and means of presenting yourself as a sector. The Netherlands is well-represented at various international trade exhibitions. They include Germany, Hong Kong and Russia, but also the domestic market. Alexport in Alblasserdam is a company that is represented at virtually all trade exhibitions.
Collective
"Trade exhibitions are very important. Taking part in trade exhibitions has always been an important part of our approach. That is one of the things that explains our growth", is the firm
To show clients what the company has to offer, Alexport
conviction of Alexander Visser, managing director of Alexport. In
regularly attends trade exhibitions. "We're really exhibition
1998 he started his import and export company in Barendrecht.
tigers", laughs Alexander Visser. "A stand makes it possible to
Two years ago Alexport relocated to industrial site Nieuwland
present your company's identity. We think that that achieves
in Alblasserdam, where as a fruit and vegetable trader he is the
more than going around with a stack of leaflets. We've been
odd one out.
told by clients that they appreciate that." Alexport has been
"It's perfectly simple: we wanted to build something in
attending Fruit Logistica in Berlin and World Food in Moscow for
Barendrecht, but there was no land available and the prices
many years. "We've also been at the exhibition in England twice,
were sky high. We went in search of an alternative location and
we've been in Poland twice, at AGF Detail, AGF Totaal, and
ended up here in Alblasserdam. It took a bit of getting used to.
Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong. In 2010 we're taking part for
We had to arrange something to get our products here from
the first time together with De Groot in Hedel in the collective at
Barendrecht. That something became first a single lorry and then
Fruit Logistica, as arranged by the HBAG. Taking part in a trade
two so that we could also load the products among our growers.
exhibition involves a lot of organisation. If a lot of things are
Now that we have our own transport, I receive my products
arranged collectively, that saves a company a lot of rigmarole.
sooner than when we were in Barendrecht."
One downside of collective participation, though, is the stand
57
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
building restrictions. I understand that there have to be rules, but I
but indicate origin has no added value. It has to be backed up
think they could be altered."
by a quality standard, as with Flandria in Belgium." And that is
Alexander Visser has already expressed that opinion during
precisely what Frugi Venta has called for at the GroentenFruit
a meeting of the Holland Fresh Group Committee, on which
Bureau.
various trade companies representatives have a seat alongside representatives of Frugi Venta, GroentenFruit Bureau, HBAG
Cultural differences
and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. 2009 saw the successful continuation of the partnership between the business community, the Ministry of Agriculture and HBAG with
It strikes Alexander Visser as being very worthwhile to invest in
participation in exhibitions in Hong Kong and Anaheim, where
effective guidelines. That is certainly true now that the Quality
PMA was held in 2009.
Control Agency (KCB) is carrying out less supervision now that the quality standards for 26 products have been dropped. "I think it's a bad thing that the KCB is becoming increasingly
Image
inclined to keep its distance. Growers always think that their product is superior. Take Spanish products, for example, which
Alexander Visser believes that a strong image is conveyed if a
are getting better and better, while the standard is increasingly
group of Dutch companies stands together. "The Netherlands as
being lowered in the Netherlands. The way I see it, we should
a trading country might have a bad reputation in some areas,
start by investing in quality standards and monitoring them and
which is formed in part by past experiences that too much
then set up a campaign to promote Dutch products. We have
was moved from A to B with pallets. But despite the criticism,
enough to offer: healthy, free of residues, traceable and fair. It
foreign companies know perfectly well that plenty of good
seems to be worth devoting an advertising campaign to publicise
things are to be had in the Netherlands." Alexander Visser has
that. You should sell a product because it's good, not because
also experienced that the image of Dutch products sometimes
you've got a lot of it. If you sell products without being able to
leaves something to be desired. By way of example, he still has
guarantee their quality, there is a huge risk of losing clientele.
a German retailer as a customer who is unwilling to buy any
There are plenty of ways for preventing that. We could develop a
Dutch products from him because of the "Wasserbombe" affair,
guarantee system, for instance." Ultimately, it's all about satisfied
now almost 15 years ago. "I keep trying to persuade him by
customers. And to Alexander Visser it's as clear as day that you
having him try it out, but he is sticking to his guns. I see it as a
have to approach that customer in Germany differently from the
challenge to get him over the line one day. To do that, the Dutch
one in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. "The differences
products will of course have to live up to their promise. I think it's
between the Dutch and the Germans appear to be small, but in
a very good plan to promote Dutch products with the .NL logo
fact they are huge. You have to have the knack of bridging what
providing support, but that will mean that the producers have to
appear to be minor cultural differences."
meet certain minimum requirements. A label that does nothing
58
“Selling because a product is good, not because you have a lot of it�
Communication and promotion In 2009 Frugi Venta was involved in various promotion projects. These are generally projects that are financed by means of Product Board for Horticulture levies and in which various sector organisations and business community representatives are represented on behalf of the rank and file. In 2009 Frugi Venta published a series of leaflets setting out its activities in order to promote its own organisation.
conducted in partnership with the Main Board for Agriculture Retail.
Mushroom promotion The lion's share of the promotion budget for mushrooms was spent in 2009 on the 25th anniversary of the Zilveren Champignon (Silver Mushroom). Eight teams of top chefs presented their culinary skills, dominated by dishes including mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and other mushroom types. An anniversary book was issued as well. Frugi Venta was also involved in talks with the Mushroom
Labour market image campaign
Promotion Foundation on setting up an international advertising
Campaign directed from the Product Board for Horticulture
campaign. Some Dutch mushroom growers have undertaken to
aimed at improving the image of the horticulture chain and
make a contribution. Agreement has not yet been reached on the
attracting more young people to a job within it. Official launch:
trade contribution.
25 March 2010.
Fruit vegetable campaign Floriade steering committee
Frugi Venta was involved in the fruit vegetable campaign,
The world horticulture exhibition Floriade is being held in Venlo
coordinated by the GroentenFruit Bureau. The aim of the
in 2012. The fruit and vegetable sector sets out its stall in a
campaign was to raise the image of Dutch fruit vegetables to
shared pavilion at this event. A total budget of 2.2 million euros
a higher plane in Germany. A miniature Dutch greenhouse
has been estimated. Most of that will be paid via the levies
travelled to various German cities for that purpose. That created
collected by the Product Board for Horticulture, divided over
direct contact with consumers. They were able to taste products
the various sectors. Some of the amount will also be financed
and were given more information about the properties of Dutch
through sponsoring.
products, such as reliability, safety and quality.
Workfruit campaign
Collective trade exhibition participation
The Workfruit Campaign was continued in 2009 under the motto
In keeping with tradition, Frugi Venta shares a stand with
'Apple, fruit of all pleasure'. The campaign is being coordinated
the HBAG at the annual Fruit Logistica in Berlin and at Fresh
by the GroentenFruit Bureau. Workfruit took part in the 'Week
Rotterdam at Ahoy Rotterdam. In 2008 a successful start was
of the entrepreneur' at Utrecht's Jaarbeurs, a new leaflet was
made with working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and
developed and a survey was held among 130 suppliers who
Food Quality for collective submissions to Asia Fruit Logistica in
jointly provide 1500 companies with Workfruit. Workfruit
Hong Kong and the PMA in America. In 2009 the PMA was
also presented itself at Fresh Rotterdam at Ahoy Rotterdam in
held in Anaheim. The number of participants rises every year.
September 2009.
Trade exhibition participation is coordinated by the HBAG. The Holland Fresh Group committee also contributes and discusses
Summerfruit Campaign
plans for new trade exhibitions.
During the 2009 Summerfruit Campaign, coordinated by the GroentenFruit Bureau, three resources were deployed with the primary aim of 'awareness' and increasing consumption. During one week in August posters were mounted around 450 supermarkets. Banners were also placed on the websites vrouwonline.nl and buienradar.nl. Another campaign was
59
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Internal organisation as from 1st January 2010
60
FRUGI VENTA chairman W.L.A.G. Tacken 9 board members STAFF Director W. Baljeu secretary L. Welschen W. van den Oever I. Ribbens P. Verbaas adm. / secr. M. Meyer P. Nijhuis M. Verheijen Collective labour agreement Committee
Committee for Import/ Export Third Countries
Onion trade Committee
4 members
7 members
chairman B.A. Vroegop secretary L. Welschen advisor I. Ribbens advisor E. van Tongeren
chairman M. Gonzalez secretary I. Ribbens member W. Baljeu
chairman G. Gunter secretary I. Ribbens member W. Baljeu
6 members
Fruit trade Committee 7 members
P & O Sounding board group 70 members
chairman J. Timmermans secretary L. Welschen member W. Baljeu
chairman L.Welschen advisor I. Ribbens
Organic trade Committee 5 members
chairman J. Groen secretary W. van den Oever member W. Baljeu advisor D. Vreedzaam advisor A. Zeelenberg Committee for Vegetable preparation companies 6 members
16 members
chairman E. Noordermeer secretary L. Welschen member W. Baljeu advisor F. Huis in ‘t Veld
chairman L. Welschen advisor F. Huis in ‘t Veld
Committee for Mushroom trade
Frugi Venta participations Frugi Tel foundation
3 members
Remedium Agrarische Groothandel foundation
chairman T. van Walsem secretary L. Welschen member W. Baljeu
Food Compass foundation Frug I Com foundation
Committee for Holland Fresh Group
Foundation for Onion Promotion
9 members
chairman W. Baljeu secretary W. van den Oever
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Working group Quality Managers
Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Five Foundations 'under' Frugi Venta Frugi Venta has taken initiatives for more individual services for members. For that purpose five foundations of its own have been established.
Frugi Tel: Discounts on telecommunications Since 1994, Frugi Venta has had a separate Telecom services foundation specially for members, Frugi Tel. Participants in Frugi Tel (formerly Groentel) receive substantial discounts on landline and mobile telecommunication costs. For more information, please contact: (070) 33 55 010
Sickness absence support centre (absenteeism supervision, occupational health, re-integration) Frugi Venta is the initiator of Remedium Agrarische Groothandel, a foundation which takes over much of the work of P&O functionaries in the field of supervision of employees incapacitated for work. The service complies with all re-integration legislation and includes the statutory occupational health expertise. In 2003, two years after establishment, the Association of Wholesalers in Flower Cultivation Products (VGB) and the Dutch Potato Organisation (NAO) also decided to take part. Around 80 employers with 1500 employees now participate in this P&O support point. The foundation has been made possible with assistance from Achmea, and it works together with Zilveren Kruis Achmea and Achmea Vitale, Maetis and ArboNed. For more information, please contact: (070) 33 55 010 or www.frugiventa.nl (section: Services / Discounts).
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Five Foundations 'under' Frugi Venta
Food Compass: Food safety / residue monitoring Frugi Venta took a successful initiative in the field of food safety six years ago. Food Compass (Foundation for Monitoring Food Crops) provides national, independent residue studies based on risk analysis. Companies who work according to the new Hygiene code and are therefore obliged to have residue studies carried out, can make use of the Food Compass services. Food Compass has also played a role in the negotiations with the Russian authorities on MRLs. Other (trade) companies that have residue analyses carried out in the context of their own HACCP plan can also take part. Following independent sampling, analysis takes place in accredited laboratories. The new foundation already has 240 participating companies, and works intensively together with the Product Board for Horticulture. For more information, please contact: foodcompass@tuinbouw.nl or www.foodcompass.nl or call +31 79 347 06 01.
Frug I Com: Platform for Fruit & Veg. Chain information Frug I Com is the ‘nickname’ of the Platform for Fruit & Vegetable Chain information. Its purpose is to promote standardisation of the electronic messaging within the chain and between chains. Frug I Com offers a platform for exchange of experiences and new developments between the users and operators of chain information systems. The use of electronic messaging is essential in order to meet the traceability requirements of (inter)national clients and the government (General Food Law). Frug I Com works closely with GS1 Nederland. In 2009 Frugi I Com participated in Fresh Rotterdam and comprehensively presented itself during the concluding conference of the Agrologistics Platform. For more information, please contact: www.frugicom.nl or telephone +31 (0)79 34 70 620.
Foundation for Onion Promotion The Netherlands is the world's biggest onion exporter. To extend the sales market even further, Frugi Venta set up the Onion Sales Promotion Foundation (SAU) in close consultation with Zuver. The Foundation has submitted a number of research proposals to the Product Board for Horticulture (PT), which the PT has approved. A total of five projects are being carried out, for which Gijsbrecht Gunter has been appointed as project manager. The projects concern the processing of remnant streams into sustainable energy applications; natural colourings and functional foods; the development of a knowledge database and a knowledge network; sustainable policy and the development of a standard form for onion peel compost. Cooperation throughout the supply chain is increasingly gaining in importance in the onion sector. The purpose of the knowledge database is to create a digital knowledge network so that current knowledge and trends can be quickly and efficiently applied by the various links in the chain.
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
Board of Frugi Venta as from 1st January 2010 Name
Company and location
Telephone
Frans van Aarle
Gebr. van Aarle BV, Schijndel
(073) 547 46 85
frans@aarlegebrs.nl
Ron de Greeff
Langfruit BV, Venlo (vice chairman)
(077) 323 66 66
rdgreeff@langfruit.nl
Shawn Harris
Nature’s Pride BV, Maasdijk
(0174) 52 59 00
Shawn@naturespride.nl
Thijs van den Heuvel
Olympic Fruit BV, Barendrecht
(0180) 64 39 39
mb.vandenheuvel@olympicfruit.com
Edwin Noordermeer
Tuinderij Vers BV, Brielle
(0181) 48 51 12
e.noordermeer@tuinderij-vers.nl
Harro van Rossum
Combilo BV, Waddinxveen
(0180) 44 67 00
h.van.rossum@combilo.nl
Philip Smits
The Greenery BV, Barendrecht
(0180) 65 77 70
p.smits@thegreenery.com
Rian Verwoert
Kon. Fruitmasters Groep, Geldermalsen
(0345) 57 88 00
ha.verwoert@fruitmasters.nl
Jaap Wiskerke
Wiskerke Onions BV, Kruiningen
(0113) 38 22 10
jwk@wiskerke-onions.nl
Chairman
Wim Tacken
wimtacken@hotmail.com
Director
Willem Baljeu
baljeu@frugiventa.nl
Secretary
Leo Welschen
welschen@frugiventa.nl
Policy assistants
Wilma van den Oever
vandenoever@frugiventa.nl
Inge Ribbens
ribbens@frugiventa.nl
Peter Verbaas
verbaas@frugiventa.nl
Administrator
Paul Nijhuis
nijhuis@frugiventa.nl
left to right: Paul Nijhuis, Peter Verbaas, Inge Ribbens, Maryse Verheijen, Wilma van den Oever, Willem Baljeu and Leo Welschen.
64
Appendix A - Board / External representatives
External representations as of 1st January 2010 Corporate pension fund foundation for Agricultural and Food producers (Bpf AVH) π Board π Bpf AVH Investment Committee
Main Board for Agricultural Wholesale (HBAG) π Board π HBAG Commission for Fruit and Vegetables π Holland Fresh Group π Recall insurance Working Group
Foundation for Voluntary Early Retirement / Fruit & Veg Wholesale fund foundation π Board π Training Committee Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Fund
Product Board for Horticulture (PT) π Board π PT Budget committee π PT Fruit & Veg. Sector Committee π PAC Edible Mushrooms π PAC Fruit π PAC Greenhouse vegetables / Florists' sector π PAC Vegetables - Field π PT Steering group for Market Research π PT-Global GAP Board of Experts π PT-Sector-PR Greenhouse Horticulture π PT-Image campaign Labour π PT-Social-Economic Committee π Sector organisations consultative group for π Common Organisation of the Market (CMO) π PT Consultation CO2 Footprint
Foundation for Wholesale Training fund (SOG) π Board Corporate committee for wholesale (Works Councils) Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality π Steering Group Platform Agrologistics Plant Protection Service π Consultative Group Horticulture Trade / PD Working Group Inspection regime Phytosanitary Programme Consultation LNV
GroentenFruit Bureau (VegetablesFruits Bureau) π Board π GroentenFruit Bureau General Promotion Committee π GroentenFruit Bureau Soft fruit Collective π GroentenFruit Bureau Onion Committee π GroentenFruit Bureau Fruit Committee (previously the Apple Promotion Working Group) π GroentenFruit Bureau Mushrooms Committee
Fresh Corridor π Steering group Greenports Nederland π Board π Steering group Mobility Greenports Nederland Sounding board group Greenport South Holland
Steering group for Promotion of Vegetable fruit in Germany Foundation for Innovation in Flowers and Food π Board
Fruitpact π Steering group π Market theme group π Logistics theme group
VNO-NCW Horticulture Platform VNO-NCW Trade Platform / Dutch Wholesale Association (NVG)
CLIENT Export User group EV-PD
Quality Control Agency for Fruit & Vegetables (KCB) π Board π KCB RIK Committee
PEX Chamber of Commerce Rotterdam
Agro Quality Support (AQS) π Board
The Frugi Venta staff represented in the above organisations can be found at www.frugiventa.nl/brancheorganisatie/ externevertegenwoordigingen
Freshfel Europe π Board of Directors π Export Division π Working group on promotion Fresh Rotterdam / Innofresh - Freshtec trade show π Advisory committee
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Frugi Venta Annual Report 2009
66
Appendix B - Frugi Venta Commission and Committees
Frugi Venta Commission and Committees Organic trade Committee Willem Baljeu Jan Groen Peter Jacobs Kees de Kievit Gert Kögeler Wilma van den Oever Ronald Tax Daniëlle Vreedzaam Arend Zeelenberg
Committee for Third Country Import/Export Willem Baljeu Frugi Venta Thijs van den Heuvel Olympic Fruit BV Miguel Gonzalez (chairman) Hispafruit BV Richard Kamstra Staay Food Group BV Frank Pijpers J.M. Levarht & Zn. BV Inge Ribbens (secretary) Corrie Visbeen Bud Holland BV Fruit trade Committee Zweer van Aalsburg Willem Baljeu Gert Bouman Gerrit van Leeuwen Jan Timmermans (chairman) Corrie Verheij-Hofs Cees Verheij Joop Vernooij Leo Welschen Bert Wilschut Johan van Haarlem Mushroom trade Committee Willem Baljeu Andries van den Bogert Rob Banken Piet Hein van den Oord Tom van Walsem Leo Welschen
Fruitmasters Holland BV Frugi Venta S.C. van Ravenswaaij BV Frupaks Fruit BV C.G. Timmermans & Zn. CV Hofs Fruit Company BV VOF Corn. Verheij en Zn. Fruitbedrijf J.C. Vernooij BV (secretary) The Greenery BV (advisor) NFO
Holland Fresh Group Committee Willem Baljeu (chairman) Frugi Venta Ad Berendsen GroentenFruit Bureau Ger van Burik HBAG Harm Jan Eikelenboom The Greenery BV Margôt Hart FreshQ Auke Heins GroentenFruit Bureau Martijn Homan Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality Wilma van den Oever (secretary) Frugi Venta Alexander Visser Alexport Young Frugi Venta Management Club Zweer van Aalsburg Fruitmasters Holland BV Tim van der Knaap Knaap Fruits BV Inge Ribbens (secretary) Frugi Venta Simone Varekamp Tuinderij Vers Marco Vijverberg (chairman) Euro West BV Edward Vroegop Vroegop-Windig BV
Frugi Venta Ready Fruit Hedel BV Banken Champignons BV Champoord BV (chairman) Limax BV (secretary)
Vegetable Preparation companies Committee Willem Baljeu Frugi Venta Nico Fitters Frank Verhaaren BV Fabianne Huis in ’t Veld Product Board for Horticulture Marcel van den Meerendonk Groentehof BV Edwin Noordermeer (chairman) Tuinderij Vers BV Kees Pingen W. Heemskerk BV Chris Rietveld Hessing Uden BV Peter Stavasius Stavasius Grootverbruik BV Leo Welschen (secretary) Onion trade Committee Willem Baljeu Jan Broersen Gijsbrecht Gunter Piet Jansen Jan van der Lans Lijn Moerdijk Inge Ribbens Jaap Wiskerke
Frugi Venta (chairman) Green Organics BV Kroon BV AgroFair Benelux BV Eosta BV (secretary) Frugi Venta Naturelle BV (advisor) (advisor) Supply Chain Manager Task force Organic
Collective labour agreement Committee Ron de Greeff Langfruit BV Izaak Havenaar Jr. Haluco BV Ed van Tongeren (advisor) AWVN Cindy van de Velde-Kremer The Greenery BV Ben Vroegop (chairman) Vroegop-Windig BV Leo Welschen (secretary) P & O Consultative Group CBA consultation Leo Welschen (chairman) Inge Ribbens (advisor) 125 members of Frugi Venta
Frugi Venta Gourmet BV (chairman) Monie Nieuwdorp BV VOF Arjazon Uienhandel Van der Lans International BV MSP Uienhandel BV (secretary) Frugi Venta Wiskerke Onions BV
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Notes
Bezuidenhoutseweg 82, P.O. Box 90410, 2509 LK The Hague T +31 (0) 70 33 55 010, F +31 (0)70 33 55 020 Email info@frugiventa.nl, I www.frugiventa.nl