Ramón Sentmartí “Asian and Latin American markets have great potential for the Catalan fruit and vegetable sector”

By Milagros Jurado

A few days before I Tertulia Agro Business  DO WE SPEAK?: Marketing of safe fruit in China, which will take place in Lleida and whose organization participates e-Commerce Agricultural (ECA), interviewed one of its participants, Ramón Sentmartí, new director manager of Promotion of Agrifood Exports from Catalonia(PRODECA). With him we talked about the challenge of internationalization and opportunities posed by the food industry of his autonomous region.

ECA: newcomer to the position of managing director of PRODECA, ¿what do you think would be the main strategic lines of action of this public company?

Ramón Sentmartí: in a global world like today, one of our main goals is internationally position the food industry in Catalonia and accompany companies in their process of opening and consolidation in foreign markets. To do this, obviously, coordination between different government agencies is essential. It is also, from our perspective, working closely with the private sector, and this is the main strategy we have built, because we are convinced of the goodness of work together, private sectors and Administration, to provide better public service.

ECA: what is the current health status of agrifood exports in Catalonia?

R.S.: excellent, we are the first agri-food cluster in Europe. The food industry in Catalonia accounts for 18% of GDP, 15% of GVA and has more than 3.400 enterprises engaged in the processing and food processing. Agrifood exports represent the third export sector with 14.27% of Catalan exports. With a coverage rate of 94.39%, representing more than 6 million tons exported and about 9 billion euros annually. These data reaffirm the consolidation of a significant number of regular exporters and the strength of the sector. Catalonia has a consolidated leadership position within Europe, it is one of the regions with the highest increase in value of exports of food and beverages.

ECA: what are the challenges of the Catalonia agri-food sector?

R.S.: of course, continue to work on innovation and quality throughout the chain, from production until the product reaches the consumer, to maintain and increase productivity in a sustainable way, both economically and environmentally. In this sense, also the collaboration between the public sector and the private sector is essential because the challenges are shared and solutions can not be unilateral. I insist on this strategy shared and coordinated as the main value incorporated in accordance with the times.

ECA: what opportunities?

RS: we have a very powerful food industry, with very dynamic sectors such as meat, the drinks, the wine sector head, fruit and vegetables, and olive oil, which after modernizing its structures has positioned itself in segment in a high perceived value by consumers, both here and beyond our borders.

The growing demand and improvements in the production and marketing have been the key to leadership and strength of this sector in Catalonia, which presents a clear export orientation.

“Fresh fruit is a strategic sector for the agrifood economy of Catalonia, and one of the pillars of its internationalization”

Focus on the fruit sector, we are one of the main production areas of fresh fruit in Europe, and, simultaneously, the fourth largest producer of pear, peach and nectarine, and the twentieth largest producer of apple.

Of the total Spanish in 2015 from Catalonia has been exported 43% of peaches (161,800 tons), 35% of nectarines (162,783 tons), 59% of pears (61,812 tons) and 65% of apples (83,034 tons). The main target countries are those that make up the European Union, however up positions in recent years exports to countries in Eastern Europe, the Persian Gulf, and point as some emerging countries in South America and Asia.

ECA: what new markets are opened or are of interest or for fruit and vegetable production of their community?

RS: for Catalan producers of fruits and vegetables are new recipients with potential Asian markets such as China (for peach, plum and grape), Japan (for khaki and tomato), Thailand (for stone fruit) and India (for fruit pome and khaki). In some species and markets is pending in the establishment of protocols work, however, future opportunities are presented clear. We also found a great potential in the US and Latin American markets.

“We expect Latin America to take an increasing role as a destination for our fruit production”

If you look at their fruit and vegetable imports from Europe we see how they grow increasingly, despite transport difficulties and barriers to entry, to be negotiated.

ECA: regarding the products of his autonomous community that benefit from trade with China, what coverage you offer to companies that export their fruit to this destination? What ways of solution to difficulties arise as those related to logistics?

R.S.: The entrance of stone fruit of Catalonia in China, allowed since last April, can be a big boost for the fruit and vegetable industry of our country. China, for its size, is a business opportunity that is still untapped for European producers and evidently for Catalan producers, since they appreciate the taste and quality of our fruit. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), imports of stone fruit in China are still low: 17,731 tons of plums from Chile, New Zealand and the United States and 74 tonnes of peach and nectarine Australia.

“One of the barriers in exports to China is logistics. Almost one month journey, in which technology should be able to preserve the fruit at a suitable temperature At this point, the collaboration between the different components of the value chain is transcendental “

Beyond the distance, companies wanting to do business in China must be present actively, either through international fairs or business meetings, with the aim of establishing new contacts and build bridges with potential partners. From PRODECA and the Department of Agriculture we are collaborating in this task, to put in direct contact with producers with buyers from third countries, being present at fairs in Asian markets, such as Sial China and Foodex, organizing meetings between international operators of fruit and traveling to this market regularly to maintain relationships with sector leaders in that country.

On the other hand, PRODECA is also present in the fruit sector concerning fairs like Fruit Logistica (Berlin) and Fruit Attraction (Madrid). Likewise, we also organize the Fruit Business Forum, which this year celebrated its second edition, following the success of the first last year.

The Fruit Business Forum is a business platform with the participation of exporting producers of fruit of Catalonia and importers and distributors of various global markets. Its aim is to create a space where interests of buyers and producers to meet and business flows are generated. Between the two editions have participated markets of Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Republic of Georgia, Ukraine, Central and South America (Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Costa Rica), South-East Asia and Asia East (South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, India), the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Qatar), Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal), USA, Russia, Belarus and Armenia.