Two weeks ago, VLAM took the new members of the Flemish Parliament's Committee for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy to the early market in Barcelona. "As part of a visit to the Seafood Expo Global in Spain, we visited the Mercabarna early market to show them how Flemish products are represented and their value," says Nele Van Avermaet of VLAM.
"We recently got a new government in Flanders, which means that the composition of the members of the Flemish Parliament's Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Policy has also changed," she continues. "We therefore wanted to take them along to show them the strength and value of Flemish fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat, abroad. And then explain what VLAM means for the export of these products. It is essential to involve them in the process. As an organisation, we are partly dependent on government budgets, and those budgets are under pressure, so it is good to demonstrate the importance of our sector."
Spain itself is not a priority for VLAM in its promotional campaigns. "We don't do much promotion in Spain specifically, which is why it was nice to see our products in the country in this way. We focus more on France, Germany, and Norway, but who knows, this may change in the future. As in other southern countries, such as Italy, the climatic conditions are making it increasingly difficult to be self-sufficient. For this reason, we are already seeing exports to these countries increase, so it may become more and more interesting to run promotional campaigns there in the future."
For now, the committee members' reactions have been positive, according to Nele. "They thought it was wonderful to see how large-scale everything is. A while ago, we took members to Fruit Logistica, where they were very impressed by the trade fair, but also by the large number of Flemish companies present. This visit to Spain was no different. It demonstrates the relevance of what we do, and it is good to see that we have been able to open their eyes a little more to this."
For more information:
Nele Van Avermaet
VLAM
Tel.: +32 02 552 80 32
[email protected]
www.vlam.be