WASHINGTON, DC - As members of the industry descended on Berlin, Germany, for this year’s Fruit Logistica event, the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) convened leaders from around the globe for its annual Executive Leadership Summit (ELS). The invitation-only gathering welcomed over 120 executive leaders from 24 countries to discuss major challenges affecting the industry.
“The global trends and tides that our industry faces are having more of an impact on the global supply chain than ever before,” said IFPA Chief Membership Officer Miriam Wolk. “Bringing together this group of leaders is such a transformative moment for the year, allowing our industry to spend time connecting and learning about the big-picture issues that are defining the global economy. With this knowledge, our industry is better prepared to drive our success on a global scale.”
Panels at the event included those on fresh produce packaging and emerging global regulations as well as global industry trends, a release stated.
Some of the key agenda takeaways include:
- Geopolitical concerns jump to the top of the list of concerns
- AI can be a solution—if we make sure it’s not our biggest challenge
- Transformative change in packaging is needed but can’t sacrifice safety
- Setting the trends will be critical because reacting has us on our back foot
“From packaging regulations to AI, the industry is being faced with many new challenges that will continue to develop with or without our input,” said IFPA’s Chief Science Officer, Max Teplitski, Ph.D. “As an industry, we must choose to play an engaged role in the development of these major issues to ensure our needs are understood and considered, and our ability to contribute to big solutions is recognized. The Executive Leadership Summit is an excellent way to kick off the industry’s commitment to transforming the Global Supply Chain each year.”
To read more about what was discussed at the meeting, click here.
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