Fruit Attraction 2025 Madrid: advancing environmental sustainability in fresh produce

Spain as strategic meeting point

Fruit Attraction, the premier international trade fair for the fruit and vegetable sector, is held annually. Spain is a strategic meeting point for the international fruits and vegetables sector and acts as an international hub for business relations that extend beyond the bilateral trade relations between Spain and the Netherlands and cover trade with other European countries, Africa and Latin America.

Business and trade are what most companies come for to this annual event. LAN Spain plays a key role in enabling connections and facilitating networks. Especially in countries like Spain, relationships and candid engagement are very important to build trust and long-lasting projects. Other Dutch collaborative activities focused on environmental sustainability during this 17th edition of this fair. The team participated in interesting new developments between the Dutch and Spanish fresh produce sector. Including the promotion of new methods to assess environmental sustainability of fruits and vegetables and facilitating eco-friendly logistics.

On the first day of the fair, the Embassy offered together with the Province of South Holland and the Dutch Fresh Produce Centre a networking reception in the NL-lounge of Holland Fresh Group. In their keynote speech Richard Schouten (Director GroentenFruit Huis) and Machiel Kommers (Agricultural Counsellor at the Dutch Embassy in Spain) addressed the importance of the fair, its opportunities and the strong commercial ties between The Netherlands and Spain on fresh produce.

The fine art of trading also implies responsibilities like sustainable sourcing and transport and finding solutions to foster cooperation in sustainability challenges in the horticultural sector.

Two examples of these solutions to foster cooperation that were presented during the fair were: 1) The FreshProducePEFCR method to assess environmental sustainability and 2) The Fresh on Track initiative which will be described in the following paragraphs.

1. PEFCR: A tailored approach for sustainability measurements - With the Dutch Fresh Produce Centre the LAN team advocated for the use of one method to assess environmental sustainability of fruits and vegetables that considers all relevant aspects of environmental sustainability. In today’s fresh produce sector, the demand for clear and reliable sustainability information is increasing. This growing demand has given rise to a complex landscape of sustainability labels (certifications), initiatives, and regulations — resulting in administrative burdens, increased costs, and confusion across the entire supply chain, especially consumers. The FreshProducePEFCR (Based on the European Commissions’ Product Environmental Footprint framework) could be a tailored approach for this challenge. This method covers the entire lifecycle — from production and processing to distribution, retail, and end-of-life — capturing potential trade-offs between different stages. One methodology, all labels included.
2. Ecofriendly Logistics of Fruit and Vegetables by train connecting Valencia-Rotterdam-Oslo - The Fresh on Track initiative is a public-private enterprise with the ambition to connect key fresh logistics hubs – Valencia, Rotterdam and Oslo – via a weekly temperature-controlled rail service, to be launched at the end of 2025. The pilot, known as Fresh Train, will offer fixed slots, customs facilitation, and door-to-door solutions through a collaborative model involving multiple logistics partners. This approach spreads operational risks and enables economies of scale. The Netherlands is a huge producer and importer of fruits, vegetable, plants and flowers. An important part of this is being exported, which offers an impressive potential for rail transport. European rail transport of Fresh Produce could reduce the CO2 impact of fresh produce logistics with up to 90%. In two different sessions LAN voiced strong support, underlining the importance of cross-border collaboration for greener, smarter Agro-logistics in Europe.

Why Fruit Attraction?

The yearly international Fruit Attraction fair in Madrid occupied this year 78,000 m² of exhibition space—a 10% increase from the previous year. It attracted 121,137 professionals from 152 countries, marking a 3% rise in attendance and a 5% increase in the number of participating countries compared to 2024.

The exhibition was like last year organized into four specialized areas: Fresh Produce, Auxiliary Industry, Fresh Food Logistics, and Innova&Tech. Tomatoes were this year protagonist. The "Innovation Hub Awards" recognized the most innovative and sustainable solutions in the industry. Additionally, this year a "Organic Hub Tour" highlighted companies with ecological certifications.