The CEO of Grupo Agroponiente was one of the nine speakers at the 26th AECOC Congress of Fruits and Vegetables 2024, the major event for the retail sector, driven by the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors.
The CEO of Grupo Agroponiente, Imanol Almudí, participated in one of the debates held at the 26th edition of the AECOC Congress of Fruits and Vegetables (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors), as usual, at the Valencia Exhibition and Congress Centre, mobilizing the entire Spanish retail sector and bringing together the most prestigious experts and professionals in the field.
Almudí participated in the discussion panel on ‘The Spanish Horticultural Miracle’ and specifically offered the perspective of this process from a major company in the sector owned by an investment fund. Indeed, the CEO of Grupo Agroponiente emphasized the realm in which investment funds are decisively contributing to the sector’s development, explaining that “we are in a sector that needs to grow, and investment funds are tools that provide acceleration to this process.”
After the event, Almudí highlighted that “we have tried to demystify the biased image of investment funds because, in the current market context where demand is increasingly concentrated, social and legislative demands on
producers are significantly increasing, production costs are rising, and margins are narrowing, making it absolutely necessary to achieve the necessary size as a company to respond consistently to this situation. And venture capital funds provide family businesses and farmers with solvent technical, financial, and management solutions alternative to those traditionally managed in the sector.”
The CEO of Agroponiente participated in a panel discussion that also included the CEO of Única Group, Enrique De los Ríos, within a panel of experts that featured names such as the Marketing and Communications Director of Sakata Seed Ibérica, Cari Plaza; international consultant on agri-food and associative issues, Francisco Borrás; co-founder and CEO of Grup Ametller Origen, Josep Ametller; economist, university professor, and media collaborator, Juan Ramón Rallo; AECOC consultant, Marta Munné; Marketing and Corporate Image Manager of Anecoop, Piedad Coscollá; and Manager of Plátano de Canarias, Sergio Cáceres.
The event has long been an unmissable date for the entire sector, a meeting point to theoretically and practically gauge its evolution, and a forum where all agents are present. This year, the event was sponsored by Aqualife, Bollo Natural Fruit, Naranja Valenciana, Pack’n Og, Rijk Zwaan, X Exprimir, and Zummo, with the collaboration of the Cinco Al Día Association.
It should be remembered that AECOC is a Spanish organization formed by more than 25,000 associated manufacturers and distributors, whose purpose is to improve their sectors and offer greater value to consumers. AECOC was initially created to promote the adoption of barcodes in Spain but has evolved over the years into a collaborative framework where entities can reach consumers as efficiently as possible. AECOC members account for around 20% of the national GDP.
Communication Department.
Grupo Agroponiente.
