The closing general session of United Fresh LIVE! featured a bevy of association executives discussing the worldwide produce industry’s herculean effort during the pandemic and predicting that that the future is very bright for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, though they also saw plenty of challenges on the road ahead.

The panel consisted of the top staff executive and volunteer leaders from five different organization:President & CEO Tom StenzelandChairman Michael Muzyk of Baldor Specialty Foods fromUnited Fresh Produce Association; CEO Cathy Burns andChairman Joe Don Zetzsche of HEBfrom the Produce Marketing Association;President & CEODave Puglia and Chairman Ryan Talley of Talley Farms fromWestern Growers Association;President Ron Lemaire and Chairman Davis Yung of Fresh Direct Produce Ltd. from theCanadian Produce Marketing Association; andGeneral Delegate Philippe Binardand board memberAnders LindofFreshfel Europe.

As a group, the panel articulated that while the fresh produce industry around the globe did an amazing job pivoting and adapting to the challenges of COVID-19, there were real impacts that continue to be felt and should not be minimized.

Binard of Freshfel Europe might have said it best in an understated way, noting that while the industry’s actions “gave a feeling of normalcy (for the fruit and vegetable sector), normalcy it was not.”

Puglia of WGA said that the organization’s growers collectively had “to plow thousands of acres back into the field” and had to abandon many loads of products already on the road destined for export and foodservice operations, when restaurants and borders were closed. He also noted the cash flow problem that many members are facing and said these are “still really tough times” for many grower-shippers.

Zetzsche of HEB said there was clearly a spike in sales at retail but there were many challenges had to be overcome. He said it was not easy abandoning some suppliers to fill the needs of the shoppers. He noted that floral suppliers were “massively impacted” when HEB stopped shipping flowers to their stores because they had to focus on delivering sufficient supplies of milk and other essential products. At this June 19 meeting, he said, “We are at a turning point but there is still a lot of work ahead of us.”

Lemaire of the CPMA said that Canadian suppliers faced the same issues as their counterparts in the United States as restaurants closed, unemployment spiked and the government issued more new regulations than at any time since World War II.

Binard said the European Union had to deal with the additional problem of having 27 countries with different rules and regulations and in various stages of closed borders.  He said labor was an issue and so was logistics. Lind chimed it that shoppers reduced their supermarket trips from five a week to one or two and consequently bought extended shelf-life product, leaving some of the typical impulse items behind.

Muzyk said consumer shopping habits have been somewhat of a mystery during the three-month old pandemic. “What used to sell and what is selling isn‘t necessarily the same,” he said, adding that it also varies from state to state and town to town. He noted that the fresh vegetables currently being offered were mostly planted just as the pandemic hit with no regard to these changing shopping habits.

Moving forward, Puglia said the pandemic has more fully exposed an ongoing issue, and that is the industry’s reliance on labor. While producers are doing everything they can do to keep workers safe and comply with social distancing rules, he noted that there is only so much that can be done. The job of harvesting crops tends to occur in close quarters and the communities providing that service tend to live in the same manner. 

“There is no quick solution,” Puglia said, but did point to the work WGA is doing to bring automation and mechanization to the agricultural sector.

The group then looked to the future, noting some great opportunities ahead.

Lemaire said the Canadian produce industry has been working for decades to increase the use of fruits and vegetables and the pandemic appears to be greatly helping that effort. He said the theory was that Canadians forgot how to cook, “but we’ve seen a massive change. They are spending more time at home and more time cooking.” He noted that healthy eating has moved to the forefront.

Zetzsche agreed, noting that his is a great opportunity “to introduce more customers to the ‘Joy of Fresh’,” which is a new pandemic-inspired, consumer facing program of PMA to help increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

In fact, PMA’s Burns believes this is a great opportunity to truly move the needle with regard to the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. “It is our industry’s time to take our rightful place on the plate,” she said.

She also noted that the pandemic has led organizations throughout the supply chain to work for their common good. “Collaboration is the new currency,” Burns said. “What I have seen over the last 13 weeks – companies working together – has left me incredibly optimistic.”

Yung echoed those sentiments noting that the industry has quickly embraced new ideas and discovered that it can change much quicker than it ever thought possible. “It’s just amazing,” he said. “How can we leverage this in the future? Though some companies think we are eventually going to get back to normal, I believe a new normal is the reality … not the old normal.”

Talley said one of the benefits of these challenging times was that it has led to better and closer connections among his employees and management. He said everyone has had to work together to create, develop and implement new systems. “All in all, it made our team and group a lot tighter.”

Stenzel, who moderated the session, ended it by emphasizing several of the themes expressed by the group. He noted that collaboration is essential and gave a particular shout out to PMA’s Joy of Fresh, saying they “hit it out of the park.”

He also echoed Burn’s thoughts about the future, noting that he was especially optimistic “that this may be our time.”

The session closed out the United Fresh LIVE! virtual annual convention but not before Muzyk applauded the effort and compared it to the changing times that have coincided with the pandemic.

He noted that it was the 19thof June, and explained why Juneteenth is an important day in African-American history as it celebrates the end of slavery. He said at Baldor that morning, the entire staff knelt for eight-and-a-half minutes in solidarity with the current movement for equality throughout our nation. He indicated that action is also indicative of new thinking that times have changed and we can’t proceed down the normal path. In a similar vein, Muzyk expressed pride to be part of this virtual convention, a first for the industry, and a further sign of changing times.

Stenzel revealed that there were 12,500 registrants, 7,000 people simultaneously on-line at its peak and more than 1,000 people attending each general session.

Muzyk opined that United Fresh LIVE! was a “home run.”