The lack of awareness of global food safety and quality standards, insufficient understanding of the requirements for certification, high cost of certification, and low levels of market access information are among the challenges impacting the agrifood sector in Asia. To expose member countries to state-of-the-art food value chains, emerging eco-friendly agrifood products and packaging, future food themes, and modern food safety and traceability systems, the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) recently organized a six-day study mission to Germany, 9–14 October 2017.

The study mission included a visit to the Anuga FoodTec Fair 2017 in Cologne, the world’s leading exhibition for the food and beverage retail, service, and catering sector, which attracted more than 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries. The focus of the mission to Munich and Cologne was on showcasing projects and initiatives that could help the 17 participants from 10 APO member countries better understand the latest trends in EU and German agrifood markets, along with policies and initiatives that could enhance the access of products from their countries to those important markets.

In Munich, the participants toured Großmarkthalle, one of the largest municipal markets in Europe. Located in the borough of Sendling, the international wholesale facility offers 140 different product classes from 83 countries, with sales volume of more than EUR750 million. It boasts 65 horticultural producers, 45 florists, and 15 wholesalers of miscellaneous product lines.
The participants also visited the producers’ and trade association Naturland and Naturland Markt. Naturland helps its 2,000 members market produce and serves as an interface among farmers, processors, manufacturers, wholesalers, traders, and retailers. The study mission was coordinated by Organic Services GmBH Director Gerald A. Herrmann and APO Secretariat Agriculture Department Program Officer Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Hossain.