1 Supply side: Africa and Latin America

1.1 Africa Market Survey

Reasons to import from these countries:

South Africa: For its seasonal and high quality fruit, while South Africa is price competitive in wine.

Cote d’Ivoire: Tropical fruits from Cote d 'Ivoire are not easy to grow in Europe and are in high demand.

Morocco: Its close location, easy transportation and low cost.

Kenya: Kenya has a stable trade relationship with Europe for its high-quality agricultural products, it also enjoys some preferential trade policies.

Zimbabwe: The European market has a steady demand for high-quality fruit from Zimbabwe, especially during the local off-season.

Senegal: The variety of products, which can enrich the product line of the European market.

Egypt: The European market has a steady demand for Egyptian citrus and other fruits, especially during the local non-production season.

Ghana: Ghanaian fruits are favored by the European market for their quality and taste, especially the increased demand for non-traditional fruits.

1.2 Latin American Survey:

Sources：

https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/ALL/year/2022/tradeflow/Exports/partner/WLD/product/070920

https://www-statista-com.kedge.idm.oclc.org/statistics/1177390/export-value-fruits-brazil-type/

https://www.worldstopexports.com/asparagus-exports-by-country/

https://www.ecuador.com/blog/ecuadors-exports-fruit-galore/

Indicative seasonal calendar for the production of some fruit and vegetables in Europe

Source : ICI Business 2022

Seasonal Calendar for Fruits and Vegetables in western / northern Europe

Source: https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/fresh-fruit-vegetables/what-demand

In association with the production calendar of the European fruit and vegetable season, we thought it would be a good idea to select fruits and vegetables from Latin America:

Typical tropical fruits (banana, mango, avocado ...), Stone fruits: Peach, Apricot, Cherry, Plum, Prune ... Berries and grape

For vegetables consider tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, bell peppers, lettuce, corn, asparagus, cucumbers, squash, etc.

We therefore recommend the following countries:

Mexico & Brazil: Typical large producers

Large-scale agricultural production: Brazil has large-scale agricultural production, which allows it to satisfy the needs of the European market in large quantities.

Year-round production: The climate allows Brazil to produce and export a wide range of fruits and vegetables throughout the year.

Emerging agricultural technologies: Brazil's agricultural sector employs emerging agricultural technologies, including modernised agricultural production and advanced planting techniques. This has helped to increase yields and ensure the quality of products, making Brazilian agricultural products more competitive.

Transportation conditions: Geographical location, proximity to the European region, air and sea transport and preservation techniques are well developed.

Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia: typical countries offering tropical fruits.

Bananas can be produced and supplied all year round, the quality of bananas exported is high and the banana chain is relatively well developed.

Cold chain transport: As tropical fruits have high requirements for temperature and humidity, fruit exports from these countries are usually transported in the cold chain to ensure that the fruits remain fresh during transport.

Modern agricultural techniques: To increase yields and ensure product quality, some agricultural producers in these countries use modern agricultural techniques such as greenhouse farming, irrigation systems and advanced management practices.

Peru and Chile: typical countries offering counter-seasonal fruits (berries, cherries and grape)

Peru:

Peru is of interest to the European market for its performance in grapes, citrus fruits and blueberries.

Peru's grape industry has a strong presence in the European market, especially when supplied out of season.

Peru is also one of the leading countries supplying Europe with fresh blueberries.

Chile:

Cherry export and counter-seasonal production: Chile has found success in the European market with the export of cherries, whose season is usually during the European winter, coinciding with Chile's counter-seasonal production, which can be exported when other cherry-producing countries around the world are dormant.

Cherry varieties are abundant and of high quality, with a well-established chain from production to export shipment.

Chile is one of the world's largest exporters of grapes, supplying Europe with large quantities of grapes, including red, white and black varieties.

2 Market overview: Analyse the consumption trends of fresh fruits and vegetables in Europe, market demand size, and competitors’ information.

FFV consumption trends:

World production of fruits and vegetables grew faster than population growth until 2013, and per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables stabilized after 2015.

Europe's per capita fruit consumption of 100 kg/year/inhabitant and per capita vegetable consumption of 114 kg/year/inhabitant are lower than the world average, and much lower than China's annual per capita consumption of 300 kg of vegetables and 500 kg of fruit. The total annual consumption in Europe is 90 billion kg of vegetables and 86 billion kg of fruits.

The European market has contracted since 2018 due to the epidemic and the trade war between the US and the EU, rebounding only briefly by 3% in 2022 due to a recovery in consumption. However, the economic downturn has caused market sales to continue to decline by 0.5% in 2023. (-4.5% for fruit and +1.9% for vegetables at retailers, according to Kantar.) Consumption in 2024 and beyond is also not promising.

Potential risks to the market:

Potential risks to the market include a military crisis in the Red Sea choking the Suez Canal, the depletion of water for capacity in the Panama Canal, and the possibility of extreme weather in South America and Africa.

Trends and market demand size in Europe:

According to the countries:

Examining the EEA and EU countries: the level of consumption of fruits and vegetables is highly uneven across countries.

Of the top ten populated countries, only Turkey, Poland and Romania have increased their per capita consumption compared to 10 years ago. Slovakia, Turkey and Germany are in the top three in terms of total national fruit and vegetable consumption. France, with per capita consumption below the EEA average and a depressed market, has the seventh highest total consumption in the EEA.

According to fruit types:

Bananas, grapes, peaches, pears, and pineapples are traditional imported fruits in Europe.

Watermelons, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and potatoes also appear repeatedly.

There is also potential for developing emerging markets for other goods listed.

According to gender:

The ratio of male to female consumption is 1.32:1.

According to age:

Consumption is highest among minors and the elderly. consumption is lowest at age 18, and consumption of fruits and vegetables increases with age.

（Image source: File 4.2)

According to income:

Although income levels are positively correlated with fruit and vegetable consumption, the rate of change in income is much greater than the rate of change in fruit and vegetable consumption. Considering the very low percentage of the population with high levels of income, a much higher percentage of fruits and vegetables are consumed by low- and middle-income popularity, which are the main consumers in the market.

EU,FR percentage of F&V

(Income levels QU1 highest and QU5 lowest)

European import market (South America, Africa)

Europe's mature and diverse market offers stability: 6 of the world's 10 largest importing countries are located in Europe, with more than 530 million consumers across the continent. Europe imports an average of 55 million tons of FFV per year, representing 40% of the average annual global trade. Over the past five years, Europe's imports of fresh fruits have declined slightly and imports of vegetables have grown, with the trend in imports following the trend in consumption.

The main imports are from (developing countries): Costa Rica 2.353million tonnes/y, Morocco 2.059, Ecuador 1.678, Colombia 1.648, South Africa 1.566 and Peru 0.994.

The Netherlands, Germany and France (Western Europe), Italy and Spain (Southern Europe) and the United Kingdom (Northern Europe) are the largest destinations for fruits and vegetables from developing countries, with the Netherlands being the center of the European trade in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Major export commodities include bananas, citrus, grapes, avocados and avocados.

Main developing country suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables to Europe

European markets bv fresh fruit and vegetable import volume 2022

2.3 Foodia European Market - Extra survey

1. European demand market & import market·Classification by country

Fruit and vegetable consumption in 2022

2022 Consumption & Import degree

Looking at the overall picture,

Germany, the United Kingdom, and France have the largest market share in terms of consumption. Following them are Italy, Spain, and Poland in the second tier. In the third tier are the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden. (Note: In the third tier, countries also include Turkey, Slovakia, Switzerland, Russia, and Romania, among others, which are non-EEA countries). The vegetable and fruit consumption of these top 10 countries accounts for 75% of the EEA countries' total. This should be the main focus of consideration.

Ranking of fruit and vegetable consumption in European countries in 2022

2022 European country import rankings

Discussed in detail

a. Germany, the United Kingdom and France are the largest consumers of fruits and vegetables and also have the largest import markets for fruits and vegetables. British agriculture relies heavily on imports, with vegetable imports as high as 80% and fruit imports as high as 40%. Brexit has caused the UK's import share from the European continent to drop sharply. African and South American fruits and vegetables are gaining greater market share. Germany and France are EU countries in the Eurozone. They have a cost advantage over the UK. France imports 40% of vegetables and 60% of fruits. Paying attention to the geographical location of the Netherlands and Belgium, it is not difficult to understand that the Netherlands has become a transit center for European fruits and vegetables. The recent French farmers' strike may affect France's agricultural policy, leading to a decline in the share of imports from Africa and Latin America.

EEA fruit and vegetable import share of top importing countries

b. The consumer markets of Italy, Spain and Poland are in the second tier, but these countries have developed agriculture, and their output and export volume rank among the top in Europe: Italy and Spain are the top 2 fruit and vegetable producers in Europe, with fruit output accounting for 42% of the total output. . Poland’s fruit and vegetable production ranks third in Europe. List its main products to pay attention to the import strategy (dislocation competition):

Main agricultural products of the country

c. The consumer markets of the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland are in the third echelon, and the market competition intensity in Sweden and Switzerland is weaker than that of the United Kingdom and Germany. As distribution centers for imported fruits and vegetables, competition in the Netherlands and Belgium is not low and they are suitable for investment and entry. Prices of fruits and vegetables in Eastern Europe and Turkey are low due to purchasing power, but the market for imported fruits and vegetables is expanding. When entering these markets, cost calculations should be prioritized.

Import market environment

Rank 1: France, Britain, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland

Rank 2: Italy, Spain, Poland

Rank 3: Türkiye, Romania and other Eastern European countries

2.European demand market & import market·Classification by fruits and vegetables

Top 10 favorite fruits of Germans & vegetable and fruit import trends in various countries in recent years

Through SINUS data, we know the favorite fruits of Germans. In addition, based on the changes in import volume from 2018 to 2022 (source cbi.eu), we show the fruits and vegetables with the largest increase in imports from the six major importing countries.

Referring to the overlapping parts of the above lists: bananas, grapes, peaches, pears and pineapples are the traditional imported fruits and vegetables from Europe. Watermelons, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and potatoes also appear repeatedly. Other products on the list also have the potential to develop emerging markets.

competitors’ information

B2B：

Farmers' markets: Rungis (the Ruhr Group provides a centralized platform for the purchase and sale of fruits and vegetables, offering suppliers and buyers the opportunity to trade and cooperate)

large wholesalers: Dole Europe, Chiquita Brands International, Del Monte

multinational importers: Total Produce, Greenyard

Major competitors：

Sales and details：

Online sales Amazon, Ocado (Britain)

Online shopping services of supermarket giants Tesco online, Carrefour

Supply-chain:

Logistics and distribution: technical needs include cold chain, package protection, warehousing, capacity planning, etc.

DB Schenker (Germany) Panalpina (Switzerland) DSV (Denmark)

3 B2B survey in Europe

3.1 B2B Market size in Europe

GMV: Gross Merchandise Value

CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate

Source: AgileIntel Research (Statista)

For Europe market, many of the suppliers in the central, eastern, and southern areas of Europe still do not offer a user-friendly digital purchasing option, which contrasts sharply against the intensity of business activity in Western Europe.

3.2 B2B eCommerce Model

3.3 Trend for agriculture B2B e-commmerce

Digital agriculture applications

Supply chain traceability

Market specialisation and customisation

Online payment and financial services

Mobile B2B eCommerce

3.4 Several B2B e-commerce companies specialising in food (vegetables and fruits) in Europe

Produce Hub

Fruit Attraction

Rungis Market

Rungis Market is primarily a B2B marketplace for businesses. for caterers, retailers and other food-related businesses. These businesses can purchase a wide range of fresh food products including meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits, dairy products and more at Rungis Market.

Turnover: 139,550,864 € (2022), 131,574,089 € (2021), 123,913,102 € (2020) (Source: CAP FINANCIALS)

Tridge

Tridge is a data and media company that operates in the agri-foods industry. The company provides global food sourcing services and offers market insights, import/export data, and food prices to facilitate trade.

Operating revenue (Turnover) in 2022: 90,064 USD≈85142.75 EUR

(Source: Orbis)

3.5 Regulations involved in B2B platforms

Data Privacy Regulations (GDPR)

e-commerce regulations

Payment services regulations

Food safety regulations

Agricultural trade regulations

Competition regulations

Consumer regulation

Authentication legislation

3.6 What do B2B sellers seek

Comprehensive Product Listings

Transaction Security

Inventory Management

Analytics and Reporting

Influence on buyer's markets

Multi-language support

Customer Support

3.7 What do B2B purchasers seek

Supplier Reputation and Credibility

Quality and Detailed Product Information

multi-language support

Transparency

Online payment and transaction security

Customer support services