Exporting fresh produce to China

In the third week of March, the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) will hold their 5th Fresh Connections China. Fresh Connections China is a three-day event organized in Shanghai that highlights trends and gives insights into the current Chinese fresh produce industry. 

Richard Owen, (VP, Global Business Development for PMA), says: “Our goal is to help suppliers around the world, who are interested in comprehending or selling into the Chinese market, to understand how to do business in China. Secondly, we focus on helping the industry in China to learn about best practices around the world.”

“The PMA achieves this through a number of different initiatives. Fresh Connections is one of our key events in China. Other initiatives include the creation and delivery of ongoing information, such as articles and white papers, that describe how the marketplace works, as well as giving up-to-date lists of permissible products. Finally, through our representative team in Shanghai, we can assist our members through market research or by making local business contacts."

“The aim of the Business Roundtables is to connect international suppliers to Chinese buyers and importers. The meetings are essentially an afternoon where people have the opportunity for 20 to 30 minutes discussions with buyers. The Roundtables have proven particularly useful for the Chinese industry and our global members. Because there are so many opportunities in China, it can be difficult to figure out who to make contact with. What the PMA does is to make that as simple and straightforward as possible by providing the connections and profiles ahead of time.” 

“People walk into the Roundtable meetings and learn how to position their discussions. We acknowledge the language barrier and provide translators, for those who need it, to facilitate communication. Preparation-wise, participants should make sure that they know which products they are interested in selling in China. It helps to know which protocols apply, and whether the product is permissible on the Chinese market. Having in mind who their importing partner might be, or who will be responsible for distribution and import, will help. In some cases, the buyers can give advice in these areas. Preconceptions of what the market wants in China can be altered after having these conversations with actual buyers.”

“At the end of the day, the goal is to facilitate business deals to happen. Either with commitments, or with the knowledge of what has to be done to be able to sell into the market.”

“The conference will accentuate a couple of trends in the Chinese and global fresh produce industries. The first major trend is the strong interest by the Chinese audience in international brands. To acknowledge this, we will work together with the CEO of Tmall Fresh in session number Two. He does an exceptional job of highlighting the position and potential of internationally branded produce into the online Chinese market place. The second trend we draw attention to is the ever growing retail market, and opportunities that are created by retail and E-Commerce stores to market imported fresh produce. Finally, we focus on ongoing concerns, very relevant in China today, regarding food safety and counterfeit products. This will be done in session Four: ‘Where my food comes from: how traceability is adding value to the food industry’. This session is presented by Dr. Elliot Grant, who has a long professional history in this field. 

Richard Owen, Vice President, Global Business Development for PMA
Produce Marketing Association
[email protected]
www.pma.com