WCO Conference & Networking Event at Fruit Attraction 2022 

On 4 October 2022 the WCO Conference took place at Fruit Attraction. Open to WCO members and the wider citrus community, the Conference was an opportunity for the global sector to discuss pertinent sectorial issues. During the Conference the WCO Secretariat presented the WCO Strategy 2022-2024, which will direct the Organisation’s activities for the two-year mandate of the current WCO Co-Chairs Justin Chadwick and José Antonio Garcia Fernandez. The Conference launched a preview of the CIRAD Citrus Statistical Book, available to WCO members as part of the WCO membership. CIRAD is the Technical Secretariat of WCO. Guest speakers, Anders Lind from Coop Trading Denmark and Oscar Mozún from Tactics, also provided two detailed presentations to participants on positioning citrus in the current trading and retail environment and communicating citrus. The WCO Conference was well attended by over 40 high-level representatives from the global citrus sector as well as the European Commission. 

The WCO Conference was followed by a WCO Networking Event on the 4 October at Fruit Attraction. WCO members and citrus stakeholders were invited to the Limón de España stand hosted by Ailimpo to discuss citrus market developments and WCO matters in an informal setting. The event welcomed actors from across the global citrus supply chain. 

WCO Citrus Technical Visit alongside Fruit Attraction 2022 

WCO members were given the opportunity to participate in a Citrus Technical Visit as part of the programme of events for WCO members at Fruit Attraction 2022. On the 3 October 2022 WCO members visited citrus operations in the Valencia region. The full day excursion departing from Madrid, comprised of a visit to Citrosol’s facilities, including their R&D laboratories, as well as a visit to a large grower to view Spanish production developments located outside of Valencia. The Technical Visit was open to all members and free of charge.   

WCO Annual General Meeting 2022 

On 1 June 2022 World Citrus Organisation (WCO) members gathered for the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). During the online AGM the WCO Secretariat presented the consolidation of the production and export forecasts for the forthcoming Southern Hemisphere citrus season 2022. This preliminary forecast is collected from member industry associations in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, South Africa, and Uruguay.

Along with citrus market development updates, the meeting also saw the re-election of WCO’s current co-chairs for a second mandate. Both South Africa and Spain, represented by the Citrus Growers’ Association and Ailimpo, were re-elected to head the organisation for another two years. More information about the WCO AGM 2022 is available here.

WCO networking meeting at Fruit Logistica 2022

During Fruit Logistica 2022, the global fresh produce trade show in Berlin, WCO members present at the fair met for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in an informal networking meeting. 

The networking meeting was a long-awaited opportunity for WCO members to catch up and discuss the latest sector and market developments. WCO members were hosted by WCO member San Miguel. 

Global Citrus Congress 2021

On 16-17 November 2021 the World Citrus Organisation and CIRAD joined forces with Fruitnet Media International to organise the second edition of the Global Citrus Congress (GCC), a virtual event bringing together leading players from the global citrus industry to identify and assess common challenges and opportunities for the citrus sector.

The GCC took place in a new 24 hour format online with free access for all delegates. Following the success of its first edition in 2020 with over 1200 delegates from over 60 countries, the GCC explored the main citrus global trends of production, trade and consumption through a lively combination of talks, interviews and panel discussions. In addition, delegates were able to interact with each other through the Congress’ platform, as well as attend sessions tailored to European, American & Asian markets on specific timezones.