PMA Fresh Connections 2016
By Luis Bringas
More than 200 producers in the central and western Mexico, met in the Polyforum of Leon, Guanajuato, in the event organized on 11 and 12 May by the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), to establish new contacts and listen to a panel of experts who spoke about market opportunities, risks and the need to share experiences to be more competitive.
In his welcome message, PMA President Cathy Burns contagion attendees with the idea of giving color to their tables with the variety of fruits and vegetables. “Mexican consumers will be very pleased to have their contributions fresh products offering health and wellness to families,” he said in his speech.
The event was encouraged with the business conference, which joined buyers and suppliers in personal meetings that helped build business relationships. Definitely, Networking is a point in favor of FreshConnections in Mexico and activities this year, including meetings for women and young professionals in the fresh produce industry.
In the inaugural part, the support of the state government of Guanajuato, host of the event was also noted. On this occasion Mr. Javier Usabiaga Arroyo- Secretary of Agricultural Development announced Guanajuato- program progress Premium Zone of Mexico, which includes more than 100 companies that meet the highest quality standards and certification. In the same program, companies are also processed and frozen products, the undisputed leader is Altex Group, which generates more than 4,000 jobs with its line of products made based on the best fruits and vegetables from Mexico. (www.grupoaltex.com).
Being a marketing event, we must emphasize the presentations of two new Mexican companies as Babia (www.babia.com.mx) with its line of fresh and vacuum-packed high, reaches major US markets , Canada and Japan. The other company that deserves special mention is that Berry Lovers from his base in Los Reyes, Michoacán distributes blueberries, strawberries and raspberries to several countries including Spain. (www.berrylovers.net)
One of the issues that attracted the attention of the participants was definitely related to transport logistics. Although for decades the fresh produce exports have been made by the road haulage, with figures of more than 350,000 containers annually by crossing borders, the current demands of trade have opened the door to air, sea and rail transport.
Proof of this was the presence of companies like R.H. Shipping, (www.rh-shipping.com) experts in maritime, air and land transport of perishable goods. AbleFreight, based in Los Angeles, California (www.ablefreight.com) company that specializes in the cold chain for export of strawberries and avocado with more than 20 global destinations by air.
Another company highlight its presence was Sea Land (www.SeaLand.com) linked to the services of the Port of Philadelphia in the eastern United States. This company offers direct connections to the Mexican ports of Veracruz and Altamira in only 6 days to bring containers to the major cities of the eastern United States. It is noteworthy that this company is coordinating an important business mission to bring Mexican producers to visit their facilities next June 15-16.
By Mexican companies that offered logistics services, we should mention the Multimodal Terminal with Customs Interior offered by the company Ferromex allied with BNSF Railway. (www.BNSF.com/mexico) The rail freight service is from the city of Silao, in central Mexico, with a final destination in Chicago, Illinois.
Another interesting project that was unveiled at PMA event was the Multimodal Park Nextlalpan, the company Piatsa (www.piatsa.com.mx) which is located in Tultitlan, State of Mexico and will feature dry port , heliports, rail and storage with a capacity of more than 20,000 m2 of warehouses.
Another issue that certainly caught my attention was that of financing. The conference Jorge Olson, CEO of FoundingMexico, (www.JorgeOlson.com) released strategies to capture the attention of investors. “Mexico is currently located on the site 14 of the world’s economies and exist in our country more than 60 investment funds mentioned finance specialist. He added that unfortunately most investments are based on models from other countries and therefore it is necessary for employers to tell their own story. in his lecture, George Olson, invited the audience to make their own investment projects and use social networks and networking to attract private capital. at the end of his presentation, mentioned undoubtedly the fruit and vegetables from Mexico is very attractive for profitable investments short and medium term .. the key is to count on a leaf, who you are, your business is about, what your products are and services and because you are different. ” With this message I closed his lecture with the approval of the audience.
