di Adriano Palazzolo
It's called "Freshness from Europe" and it's a project arrived at its second year of activities that allows European companies to participate at the most important fair of the sector in the United Arab Emirates, the WOP of Dubai, held in Dubai World Trade Center from the 13th to the 15th of November.
Financed by the European Union, the Italian Government and members belonging to Cso Italy, with a budget of 5.3 million over three years, the program aims at promoting trade of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables in the Emirates, the United States, Canada, China and Japan.
Alegra, Apofruit, Oranfrizer, Origin Group and MAAP were the companies at the Freshness from Europe stand during the fair.
The exports for Italian vegetables and fruits in the UAE revealed a continuous and steady growth over the past 5 years with a strongly positive trend in the first months of 2016.
According to data compiled by Cso Italy on Eurostat basis, from January to August 2016 19,771 tons of fruit were sold, observing a +13% over the same period in 2015.
The products with higher performances are kiwis, melons and cherries while vegetables revelaed a strong growth but with still very low quantities.
