ANTAD

ANTAD. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Rebecca Lyons, Export Marketing Manager for the Washington Apple Commission is back from attending ANTAD or the National Retailers Association of Mexico.

LYONS: Mexico this year for us has been actually, slightly behind where we were last year although of course we’ve got a smaller crop although at this point in the last 2 weeks we’ve actually caught up with where we were last year at this time. ANTAD is basically the retail trade show for Mexico. So all of the major retailers have a presence there so it’s not only produce items, it’s broader than that.

Besides food you’ll also find general merchandise and technology, all showing the latest products in the industry.

LYONS: Of course for Washington Apples we have a presence in the USA pavilion along with several other companies from the northwest. It’s very important for us to be there because Mexico is our top export market and we are a major player - apples are a major player in the produce departments of these retailers.

It’s a good opportunity to network with other people in the industry.

LYONS: And of course we’ve got our Lazy Town promotion going on at the same time so it was a great opportunity to get down there and kind of kill two birds with one stone so to speak. There were a lot of Washington shippers down there as well so that’s very positive. I think it shows the importance of a presence at the show.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.