Fourteen members of Team Vanguard spent last week in Hong Kong at the AsiaFruit Logistica Conference as a Silver Sponsor. Vanguard has participated in this event annually since its induction 20 years ago.

Throughout the course of the event’s 20-year history the conference has grown exponentially in size, hosting the global produce world in an intense yet extremely valuable few days. Vanguard held numerous meetings with their global client base from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, India, and Bangladesh, to name a few.

For Vanguard, it is also a chance to gather and meet with the collective group of valued suppliers from all regions – South Africa, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Turkey, Egypt, and more.

Tariffs on imports into China were top of the agenda for most attendees, wondering what the effect on tariffs will have on various markets and how companies will adapt. The implementation of tariffs on fresh produce into China will be something the entire produce industry will continue to carefully watch in the months to come.

Vanguard fielded many conversations around the upcoming grape season from their Challapampa ranches in Peru.  With an exciting line up of premium proprietary seedless grapes Vanguard is targeting a big increase to Asia this year. Initial enthusiasm from a number of Asian markets would put preliminary volumes well over 100 thousand.

Vanguard is strongly positioned to weather many types of disruptions in our commitment to supply fresh produce around the world, 365 days a year. We encounter common weather patterns that can disrupt the output of a crop, can run into packaging or delivery delays and now, retaliatory tariffs. We, by design, source fruit from multiple countries and origins and any interruption of supply we are designed to be able to withstand it.

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