9.30 - 10.45 EQUIVALENCE OF QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR POTATO, VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GROWERS
Speakers: Dr. Annette Förschler (QS) – Mrs. Brigitta Wolf (Vegaplan) – ir. Bert Waterink (VVA/VVAK)
For more than a decade, the Belgian horticultural sector has been deploying its Vegaplan, a quality system for food and plant safety and environmental protection that is recognised by both the authorities and users. A striking feature is the ‘bottom-up’ approach whereby the primary sector works together with purchasers to develop the system further. In 2014 the Vegaplan standard expanded to include sustainability and integrated pest management (IPM). Certification under the Vegaplan thus became a pioneer in guaranteeing sustainability and health safety in the growing and processing of fruit and vegetables. But potatoes and vegetables move beyond national frontiers and this is why our quality control system and those of our main neighbours have to be interchangeable. Consequently, the Dutch Food Safety Certificate for Potatoes and Arable Farming, the German QS and the Belgian Vegaplan are all recognised as equivalent. Structural consultation has been launched between the partners to this end.
An international seminar on how this international cooperation should evolve will be held on 12:00 - 13:00 THE FUTURES MARKET: AN INSTRUMENT FOR SPREADING RISKS IN TRADING AND PROCESSING?
Speakers: Mrs. Sascha Siegel (Eurex) – Edwin Burgers (DCA) - Organization: Fedepom & Belgapom
Potato growers have already been using the futures market for some time but as yet, not many people are using this instrument in the trading and processing sectors. Fedepom, the French association for the potato trade, and Belgapom, the Belgian association for potato traders and processors, are working together to offer their members an afternoon seminar introducing them to how the futures market works and the possibilities it offers for their businesses. Eurex, which covers the potato trading futures market, and a broker will be here to answer your questions. The presentation will be in English, with simultaneous translation into French.
14:00 - 15:30 GENERIC PROMOTION OF POTATOES AND POTATO PRODUCTS
Speakers: Katrien De Nul (Vlam) – Luc Roisin (Apaq-W) – Kate Cox (British Potato Council) & Romain Cools (Belgapom)
Both in Flanders and Wallonia, the potato sector has built up extensive experience of promoting fresh potatoes on the domestic market and as an export. Promotional campaigns are set up in conjunction with Vlam and Apaq-W to stimulate potato consumption among consumers in general. Vlam and Apaq-W will be presenting a seminar detailing how these campaigns are set up and the concrete results they have yielded. The British Potato Council, the British equivalent of Vlam / Apaq-W, will also present its own campaign and the impact it has had. In addition, the new Belgian campaign for the promotion of processed potatoes will also be unveiled. Belgian potato processors have recently established themselves as the largest exporters of frozen chips in the world: Belgian potato products are reaching more and more customers in all continents. Real ‘Belgian chips’ can be distinguished from similar products from other producers on the basis of taste, all-round enjoyment and authenticity and this will be the basis of the new promotional campaign: ‘Belgian potato products from the land of the potato chip’.
