More than 70 managing directors of manufacturers, buyers from the raw materials and organic sector, decision makers from import and certification, in short a top-class professional audience, who came together to discuss market situation, development and current trends. At the start, Ms. Schaack from AMI GmbH was able to shine: good news on the German organic market and the situation of organic farming. Nearly 15% organic growth in the first half of 2019 and cereals only an import share of around 20% thanks to grown acreage in Germany.
High-protein vegetarian and vegan products continue to be in focus due to the positive market trend. Berthold Dreher from Ölmühle Oberschwaben spoke about protein flours and trends in the bio-oil sector “Messrs. Fischer and Ritter von Nungesser presented organic sesame seeds and other interesting products from import from their own projects.
Peter Voegler from Eurofins fesdselte with his contribution to the topic: Quality assurance in international supply chains. From the series of superfoods there are from HanfFarm Hempro and Messrs. Kruse and Dulon current insights into the supply and demand for hemp, hemp products and hemp protein and certainly also the current state of the debate on hemp as a novel food. Mr. and Mrs. Andrae from Better-Eco presented the current range of their own direct imports from projects in other continents. For Ecocert IMO, Germany boss Broquet and his colleague Faßbender raised the exciting question of how companies can prepare for the revision of the EU organic directive and what they should be prepared for.
Dr. Holstein dealt with the trend topic: Vegetarian proteins for meat substitutes as climate protection with flavor. Steffen Schmidt, Ebro-Group / Transimpex Hamburg continued the topic of trend foods and proteins with the presentation of new products. On the topic of organic palm oil and sustainable cultivation, which was discussed again and again, the conference met with an absolute expert, Sven-Dai Landshöft DAABON Europa GmbH. Finally, there was a cooperation with the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce for import ideas. In this context, both classic products of the country such as organic millet, various types of lentils, chickpeas and commodities from contract cultivation were presented as well as highly interesting products in processed quality such as tomato paste and ketchup – all of course in organic quality.
The conference once again offered exciting insider information and substance discussions at the highest level, which of course is due to the fact that the audience is made up of top-class professionals and decisions, who are specifically looking for an exchange among themselves. And of course the participants use the meeting in changing constellations to discuss all possible forms of exchange of ideas up to cooperation, which is wonderful in such a familiar setting.
Many of the attendees said at the end of the conference that they would like to attend a networking conference next year. The Sourcing Trends 2020 will take place on 29.09. and 30.09.2020 in Haus Rissen Hamburg. The date is already fixed.