Thursday May 11th, 2023

Between the 3rd and 5th of May, Frutas do Brasil — the export program of the Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruit and Derivatives (Abrafrutas), with the support from the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) — participated in the third edition of Macfrut, the international fruit and vegetable fair, which took place in Italy.

The program supported four producing and exporting companies during the event: Be Fruit, Sebastião da Manga, Gibran and Up Fruit. It also organized Brazil’s booth, a place for exhibiting products and a meeting point for Brazilian companies and international buyers. The space also received visits from Jean Paul Coly and Ana Paula Torres, from the Brazilian Embassy’s Agribusiness Sector, ​​who have continually defended the interests of Brazilian fruit growing in Italy.

For Luiz Eduardo Rafaelli, CEO of BeFruit, participating in the Macfrut 2023 fair was an excellent opportunity to reconnect with customers and prospect new ones. “We already operate throughout the European market, serving the main markets, but these fairs are always important moments to adjust the schedule for the rest of the season and meet new customers”, says Rafaelli.

In addition to participating in the event, the companies also carried out an external agenda, as was the case with the technical visit to the Apofruit Agricultural Cooperative, which has 2,700 members. The directors Eduardo Brandão and Luiz Eduardo Rafaelli and representatives of the company Sebastião da Manga visited the cooperative that operates in the areas of hygiene, marketing and distribution of fresh food to distributors, large retail companies and fruit and vegetable markets throughout Italy. Around 30% of cooperative members supply organic products specifically treated in specific areas for handling this category of food.

According to Eduardo Brandão, executive director of ABRAFRUTAS, the visit to the cooperative provided an interesting exchange of knowledge in the area of ​​organic products and opened doors for the association’s organic producers in the near future.

Eduardo Brandão also participated in the Italo-Latin American Forum on food chains, presenting the lecture “Trends and opportunities in the international fruit market”. The executive director highlighted the importance of fruit consumption in the world, technologies and logistics in the export process.

About Frutas do Brasil

Abrafrutas (Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Derivatives), in partnership with ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), develops a project to support Brazilian exporters in their quest to expand their business; opening new markets; recognition and differentiation of Brazilian fruits; increase the healthy habit of consuming tasty and superior quality fruits. Since the project started in 2014, Frutas do Brasil aims to show that Brazil is a provider of quality fruits produced in a sustainable way.

About Abrafrutas

The Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruit and Derivatives (Abrafrutas) is a non-profit association whose purpose is to represent and promote Brazilian fruit growing in the international market. Created in 2014, Abrafrutas has approximately 70 associated fruit exporters and holds approximately 85% of the total volume of fresh fruit exported by Brazil.