The GlobalG.A.P. Tour was recently held in the city of Guadalajara.   GlobalG.A.P. is an international European certificate that contains a set of standards to guarantee good agricultural practices.  It is based in the city of Cologne, Germany. It is one of the most solid and recognized certificates in the world of fresh produce. A very important fact is that this certificate is governed by a committee made up of representatives of retail organizations in the agri-food sector as well as growers and supplier organizations. In this way, all the actors in the food chain participate, with the primary objective being the health and well-being of the consumer.

With 25 years in the market, GlobalG.A.P. seeks to promote and certify Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) as well as sustainable production, the welfare of workers, and the responsible use of water.  It is one of the most requested certificates by buyers in North America for Mexican vegetable growers and exporters.

The GlobalG.A.P. Tour has been organized around the world since 2009. Thousands of people in more than 45 countries have participated and it is basically an event where actors and experts on safety and sustainability issues meet and share their experiences with growers, packers, buyers, and industry suppliers.

This event, held a few days ago in Guadalajara, was coordinated together with Holland House Mexico, which is the Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Mexico.

We had the opportunity to participate on behalf of Eleven Rivers Growers/VeggiesFromMexico, which as you know is a brand that promotes the Sinaloa exporters of CAADES. It is worth mentioning that right there we were awarded the membership of our organization to GlobalG.A.P.

The event included a series of very interesting and enriching conferences and panels.  The inauguration was attended by Angelo Lazo and Ignacio Antequera from GlobalG.A.P., Carin Verbree from Holland House, and Alejandro Velasquez from the government of the state of Jalisco.

The first participation was by the Agricultural Counselor of the Dutch Embassy in Mexico, Erik Plaisier, who shared with us information about the fruit and vegetable trade between our country and Europe.  The products we export most to the “old continent” are avocado, asparagus, lemon, mango, berries, and onion.  It should be noted that the opportunity is tremendous for this market with more than 500 million consumers since we as a country have a very small participation in this market.  To give us an idea, Peru has 50% of the avocado market in this continent. Erik also shared with us that in addition to the criteria of food safety and social responsibility, sustainability has come to play an indispensable role to enter this market.

Another panel also included several growers from well-known companies such as Coliman and Tequila Patron, who shared with us some of their sustainability practices with which they have opened new markets.

One of the most awaited conferences was precisely the one given by Alejandro Lazo (GGAP Latin America), Alejandra Pistagnesi (GGAP Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay), and Marco Villegas (GGAP Mexico). Members of the GlobalG.A.P. team shared with us the different innovations that this certificate is having and will have in terms of safety, social practices, and sustainability. Always strengthening the safety of growers and therefore of consumers.

Both Eleven Rivers Growers bases considers GlobalG.A.P. as one of the main commercial certificates of safety to be a member of the Veggies from Mexico community, which seeks to reduce considerably the risks of agricultural production.