Magazines Archives - 2010 Oct

High staff turnover in produce departments can be reduced, says PMA
Story 10 - Food Business Asia

“ASIA is an important consumer market and impressive producer of fresh fruits and vegetables. PMA is working to learn more about this market and how the association can provide information, training and contacts that will be valuable to people in the industry,” said Nancy Tucker, vice-president of global business development with the Produce Marketing Association (PMA).

Tucker and other senior executives of the US-based trade association, which represents nearly 3,000 companies from every segment of the global produce and floral supply chain, attended the Asia Fruit Logistica fresh produce exhibition, held in Hong Kong last month.

This is the second time that PMA participated in the show, aiming to reach out to international members and industry leaders. At this year’s event, the association garnered leads for 90 industry players from more than 26 countries. Said Tucker: “The work we do to gain leads from an event like this is just the beginning of our activities. We follow up with each of the leads, explaining how they can benefit from PMA’s member benefits and events.

“Through PMA, these companies can access more than 3,000 of our members in 45 countries, gain valuable information and research, and support the work on industry issues such as food safety, traceability, training and more.”

“The primary value is the contacts we make and the information we learn about the marketplace. We also value the time we are able to spend with PMA members who are either exhibitors at this show or are attendees,” she added.

Commenting on challenges and issues faced by the fresh produce industry, Tucker told Retail Asia: “One of the challenges faced by retailers throughout the world is a high turnover of employees in the produce departments of supermarkets.”

She added that the global problem concerning staff can be improved through education. “To help increase the knowledge of employees and the success of the produce department, PMA has created training programmes that focus on care and handling for fruits and vegetables, customer service, inventory management, food safety and more,” Tucker pointed out. PMA’s training programmes are available in CD and online, she added.

Attending the show with Tucker were Richard Owen, director of global business development, and Michael Worthington, CEO of PMA Australia- New Zealand, the affiliate of the association in that region.

PMA Australia-New Zealand is the first affiliate for PMA. It is guided by a local board of directors and supported by paid staff, both of whom manage the programmes and events for members in the Asia-Pacific region.

Said Worthington: “PMA Australia- New Zealand provides a range of benefits specific to members in the region while enabling them to use the global connections, research and information, and other produce-specific business solutions of PMA.

“Our members learn and grow from this global interaction while they share information and ideas from their market with others.” ra

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