From 30 July – 3 August 2018, Egyptian importers of the food industry as well as news media made a study visit to Warsaw and area. The visit took place as part of the wide-ranging two-year promotional-informational campaign of the Union of Polish Fruit Growers, whose purpose is to increase the awareness of both consumers and distributors from Egypt and Algeria on the subject of the high quality and flavour value of European apples.

Representatives of the Egyptian food industry took part in a Seminar entitled “The high quality of European apples”, which was one of the key points of their stay in Poland. The Egyptian guests obtained plenty of information on the subject of international cooperation as well as the quality of fruit produced in the EU. Seminar speakers included Dr. Paweł Kraciński of the Institute for Agricultural and Food Economics; Monika Tyska, Vice General Director of the Centre for Support of Agriculture; the President of the Union of Polish Fruit Growers Mirosław Maliszewski, Sylwia Jurkiewicz of the National Inspectorate for Protection of Plants and Seeds, as well as Magdalena Wrotek-Figarska and Emilia Jędrzejczyk of the Grójeckie Apple Association. The conference moderator, President of the African-Polish Chamber of Commerce Filip Suś, also presented developmental perspectives for economic cooperation between the European Union and Egypt. The subjects discussed met with strong interest among the guests from Egypt and led to their asking several questions. 

B2B business meetings, which were held after the Seminar and the next day in the main office of the Fruit Union Association, offer good perspectives for the future of trade contacts between the EU and Egypt, according to guests and local producers.

The visit in the Grójec apple processing plant allowed the guests from Egypt to see the entire process of production, sorting and packing of apples with their own eyes. The opportunity to pick a fresh apple straight off the tree in an orchard and taste it there certainly enhanced the trustworthiness of EU fruit producers among the Egyptian visitors. We are confident that the flavour of European apples will remain long in the memory of the Egyptians.

In their free time, the Egyptian producers had the opportunity to visit the most beautiful sites in Poland’s capital, including the Old Town, the Palace of Culture and Science, and to get to know their history, tradition and flavour.

The study visit of representatives of the Egyptian food industry and journalists, who kept their editors up to date on events as they occurred, played a large role in building and maintaining business relations and facilitating mutual understanding between the two sides.