The truth that the Sekoya program includes some popular varieties was apparent during the crowds at Sekoya Field & Forum located in Meterik on the last Tuesday. Licensees as well as retail buyers across the globe gathered in Fall Creek in Meterik. They were then invited to the field of demonstrations where, as well as the most current midchill varieties Sekoya Fiesta(tm) “FC13-113” was able to be viewed and sampled.

When we returned to the garden, Value Chain & Retail Manager Hans Liekens made a presentation about the advantages of segmenting blueberries. “There are varieties that can be used for any time of consumption and even within a strict group like potatoes, consumers do better of segmenting shelves than they have done with blueberries, despite the fact that there are many opportunities to do this. In the end, you wouldn’t like a soft fruit for snacks, but it’s fine to use in smoothies.”

Hans Liekens.

There are shelves specifically for snacks flavors for breakfast, organic and family packs Sekoya impressed the guests. According to Liekens there are huge opportunities within the snack market. “Now the majority of blueberries are consumed during breakfast. However, the category of snacks is nearly four times as large.” With the Livie variety, Sekoya offers a selection of large and crunchy fruit that are a nutritious option to take on-the-go. Regarding the expansion of the category of berries He was not concerned. “Within three years, the value of blueberries in the UK will surpass bananas’ worth,” the official said.

At the forum Sekoya unveiled their Livie(tm) dispenser. This is which is a machine equipped with a cooling system which allows customers to use the cup to fill it with Sekoya fruit. “Because the other kinds are fragile for this, or they cannot be available in sufficient quantities as well as with sufficient quality throughout the year to meet this requirement,” Liekens stated. This dispenser is immediately in line with the new European regulations on packaging, fights food waste, and includes an element of fun.

The dispenser working.

Mark David, general manager of Sekoya and Sekoya, spoke to how the company is developing the program. Last year, the Sekoya varieties were planted by the 15 member companies (NorthBay Produce, Alpine Fresh, SanLucar, Surexport/RK Growers, abbGrowers, Joy Wing Mau, Fresh Produce Group, Core, Zur Group, Prize, Agrovision, Agroberries/Berryfresh, Berries Paradise, Rainier Fruit and Mastronardi) in 25 countries on some 2,500 hectares, accounting for a volume of 36,600 tonnes. Around 40 percent of Sekoya fruit is consumed in the US as well as 36% of the European market, and 24% are sold in Asia.

David mentioned David mentioned the IBO Industry Report that estimates that the production total of blueberries will be 2.4 billion kilograms in 2024 The majority of the harvest (1.7 billion kilograms) is absorbed to the fresh segment. Within 5 years time, fresh portion will likely to grow up to 2.5 billion kilograms. The effect on the el Nino in Peru the year before was massive in the blueberry industry. David said that the most recent projection for 2024/25’s season predicts that production will be 38% more than the season 2023/23 and 8percent over the 2022/23 season.

Fred Douven of abbGrowers along with Barrie Jones from IPL.

Manager of sustainability and quality Estefania Rodriguez Arquero toured the Midand High & High chill types throughout the diverse European expanding countries. Harry Hall (Hall Hunter), Carlo Lingua (RK Growers) and George Miclos (Agricrafters) then addressed current events within their respective regions of growth through an open discussion. Labor remains a topic of discussion for cultivating. RK Growers CEO Lingua indicated that Sekoya and its distinct variety is the sole solution for this. For Miclos Blueberry farming is a relatively new venture. Miclos is a relatively new breed of blueberry. Romanian operated a software firm however was in search of something to fill in the slow months of summer and therefore shifted away from software to soft fruit about two years back.

The last guest speaker was Professor Aedin Cassidy, a professor at Queen’s University Belfast. She spoke about the health benefits provided by anthocyanins found that are found in blueberries. A 3 cups of blueberries every week lowers the risk of having diabetes 2 by 26%. It also decreases blood pressure in the same way as other blood pressure-lowering medications. If you’re a man who doesn’t have any of these conditions Then there is a calming fact: drinking blueberries increases sexual erections.

Sekoya member Stefan Spanjaard of Agrovision and Felipe Silva of Zur Group.

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More information is available here:

Hans Liekens

Sekoya

Tel: +32 477 531 529

[email protected]

www.sekoyafruit.com