Tropical fruits, fresh herbs and a large selection of vegetables
The Import Promotion Desk (IPD) highlights the potential of trade partnerships with producers from Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Morocco

Bonn/Berlin, 15.03.2022 – The Import Promotion Desk (IPD) presents tropical fruits, fresh herbs and a large selection of vegetables – partly in organic quality – from its African partner countries at Fruit Logistica, which takes place in Berlin from 5th to 7th April. The producers from Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Morocco have been carefully selected by IPD experts and are certified according to international standards such as GLOBALG.A.P.

"As an import promotion initiative, we make sure that the companies in the IPD program meet the quality requirements of European buyers and can supply necessary trade volumes", says Dr Julia Bellinghausen, head of IPD. "Other good arguments for importing from Africa are its seasons, the associated strategically favourable harvest periods for fruit and vegetables, as well as short distances."

At this year's Fruit Logistica, IPD supports around 24 producers from developing and emerging countries – in addition to African exporters, also companies from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru.

Producers from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru as well as four more IPD partner countries to present their premium-quality fruit and vegetable offers at “Fruit Attraction”

Bonn/Berlin, 31 August 2021 – Subtropical and tropical fruits are much in demand on the European market. And producers from South America offer an immense diversity of prod-ucts as well as premium quality. Import Promotion Desk (IPD) will be presenting fresh fruit offerings from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru at the international “Fruit Attraction” trade fair scheduled for 5 to 7 October in Madrid. In addition to this, the import promotion initiative will be showcasing further specialities from Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Ukraine. All in all, IPD supports a total of 30 companies from its partner countries, as well as further pro-ducers from Morocco and Ethiopia as part of its cooperation with GIZ, Germany’s associa-tion for international cooperation.

Exporters from Egypt, Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Morocco as well as from four other IPD partner countries show their high-quality product range at the virtual B2B event "Fresh Produce".
Bonn/Berlin, April 14, 2021 - Mangoes, grapes, citrus fruits, pomegranates as well as sweet potatoes, fresh herbs and sugar snap peas are part of Africa's fruit and vegetable diversity that exporters will present at the Import Promotion Desk’s (IPD) virtual B2B meetings. The offerings from Egypt, Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Morocco will be a focus of the Virtual B2B Event "Fresh Produce," which runs May 10-28. In addition, the import promotion initiative will present other companies from the IPD partner countries Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Ukraine. Following the cancellation of the Fruit Logistica Special Edition, the IPD has decided at short notice to present the range of fresh fruit and vegetables from IPD partner countries in individual video meetings.

Import Promotion Desk supports companies with virtual fairs and B2B meetings

Bonn/Berlin, 24.11.2020 – The corona pandemic poses challenges for companies worldwide: contact restrictions make international trade relations and the search for new products and reliable suppliers more difficult. Many of the international trade fairs that serve as important contact exchanges have been postponed. Import Promotion Desk (IPD), the import promotion initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has developed a variety of online services to continue its work. In virtual meetings and trade fairs, IPD experts support German and European companies in opening up new supply markets and connect them with selected producers from developing countries and emerging nations.

Avocados have become a standard product for European retailers. The demand for avocados
is strong and still rising. More and more suppliers from new avocado countries try to enter the
European market. With competition becoming more intense, occasional oversupply becomes
unavoidable. In the next years, you will see the avocado market mature further with more
focus on fruit ripening and higher standards.
Exporters from developing countries can profit from the growing imports of fresh avocados.
Good opportunities exist for ready-to-eat avocados. Additionally, exporters can differentiate
themselves on the market with organic certification.

Consumer demand for fresh vegetables, combined with trends for convenience, consumer experience and innovation, has led to a new segment for luxury fresh vegetables: baby vegetables. The German market offers opportunities for baby carrots (as a snack), baby courgettes (used in Mediterranean cuisine) and baby corn (for Asian stir-fry dishes).

Beans and pulses are among commonly eaten vegetables in Germany. Try to add value to these commodity products to differentiate yourself on the market, for example with storytelling and employing social and environmental practices. Target the German market in the long off-season in European production (October – June).

Imports of fresh berries into the European market from developing countries have doubled over the past five years. Berries are increasingly offered as a convenient and healthy snack, seducing shoppers into buying them. Although many berries are grown in Europe itself, demand is much higher than European production and imports from developing countries are filling in the gap.

Read full document on CBI.eu

Voluntary sustainability standards and certificates are increasingly in demand. But what is behind the standards? What standards are there for my products? What requirements must the company fulfil? And what are the advantages and opportunities for small and medium-sized companies?

The IPD "Guide on Voluntary Sustainability Standards" provides answers to these questions and is meant as a first orientation for export companies in the food sector.

Which fruits and vegetables are in season in which country?
Which products are available in the IPD partner countries?  
Inform yourself!

A survey conducted among business leaders in Germany revealed that 86% of all of them consider trade fairs as one of the most important tools in the sourcing and procurement process.1 For a simple reason: business is done between humans. People want to meet each other, see each other and get to know each other. Especially in a world that is characterised by growing digitalisation, real-life experiences make the difference.

Participation at a foreign trade fair is a not all that difficult. However, it requires good planning and meticulous execution. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), planning a participation at a foreign trade fair may be a daunting task.
This guide is intended to help SMEs approach this task successfully.

IPD procures new trade partner for the Ethiopian exporter GreenPath Food

GreenPath Food is Ethiopia’s first – and, up until now, its only – certified EU-organic producer and exporter organisation in the fruit and vegetable sector. Import Promotion Desk (IPD) added the company to its export promotion programme in 2017. With support of IPD, GreenPath Food was able to raise awareness for its products at European trade fairs and to establish successful trade relations. For two years now, they have been in close cooperation with the Hamburg-based import organisation ElbeFruit Europe, which markets EU-organically certified avocados, vegetables and fresh herbs from GreenPath Food in German-speaking countries. Their cooperation in the organic trade sector opens up new opportunities for both partners.