20th AECOC Fruit and Vegetables Congress to be held in Valencia on June 19-20

More than 500 experts from Spain’s fruit and vegetables sector will meet in Valencia for the 20th AECOC Congress. The event will offer market data, analyse trends and share success stories of leading companies in the sector. The event will begin with a presentation by Pedro J. Domínguez (Nielsen) followed by Cindy van Rijswick (Rabobank). Rabobank will share market data that will help contextualise the current situation and offer an overview of the new opportunities and challenges for the global fruit and vegetable industry. Nielsen, meanwhile, will describe the increasingly demanding consumers of fruits and vegetables and their demands (pleasure, convenience or sustainability).

On the subject of organic products, there will be presentations from HaciendasBio, Almaverde bio and Carrefour, which has opened the first urban supermarket with exclusively organic products. Sergio Román, from Auchan Retail will share the firm’s experience of incorporating a controlled production line to offer products with taste, responsibility and proximity. In addition, Álvaro Muñoz, CEO of AMC Fresh Group, will present the keys to success and the vision of the future of the leading company in citrus and fruit juices.

The congress will also feature the vision of Eurogrup Spain Frutas y Verduras and Metro Food Sourcing Fruits and Vegetables, two distribution leaders with almost 80% of the sales of Spanish fruits and vegetables. They will discuss the challenges and opportunities for the sector, such as the commitment to a more efficient and sustainable value chain or innovation.

Precise innovation, agriculture 4.0 and the impact of new technologies in agribusiness will also be discussed in a round table that will feature the participation of Miguel Sabater of Deloitte, and disruptive startups such as ec2ce, a benchmark in artificial intelligence, and HEMAV, which works in precision agriculture using drones.

Furthermore, the congress will address the keys of digital marketing and new communication with the consumer with Gonzalo Madrid, chief strategy officer of the Wink agency. Gonzalo Madrid will present the keys to bringing value to the consumer and becoming the chosen brand.

The event will close with an inspirational presentation by Patrick Dixon, guru and renowned futurist and author of more than twenty books, who will show us the future of our sector and the keys to growth.

AECOC is the Association of Companies of Large Consumption, one of the biggest business organisations in Spain. It is the only one in which industry and large-scale distribution work together to develop good practices and technological standards that help companies to be more efficient and competitive, thereby providing value to the consumer. AECOC includes large, medium and small enterprises and represents sectors as diverse as food and beverages, textiles, electro, hardware and DIY, health and hospitality, among others. At the end of 2017, it had more than 28,000 associated companies whose joint turnover represents close to 20% of GDP.