The Produce Marketing Association, Fedefruta, Chile’s Fruit Growers Federation and Yentzen Group announced a partnership to bring together the fresh produce supply chain at the inaugural PMA Fruittrade Latin America, an international convention and exposition to be held Nov. 12-13, 2014 in Santiago, Chile.

The first-of-its-kind event for South America will replace both Fedefruta’s and PMA’s long-standing individual conventions in the region. Uniting PMA’s community of global buyers with Fedefruta’s depth in the grower and supplier sectors and Yentzen Group’s global outreach will bring unique value to attendees and exhibitors, according to a Jan. 8 PMA press release.

PMA’s strength in the retail segment is expected to bring a strong supermarket presence to the show, including Costco Wholesale Canada and Tesco Stores Ltd.

Oleen Smethurst of Costco Wholesale Canada is enthusiastic about the new event, saying in the press release, “I expect to make new connections and gain the insight I need on key markets.”

An expected 90-plus exhibitors and more than 2,250 attendees will populate the show floor, accompanied by educational programming focused on PMA’s expertise in global trends and market information combined with Fedefruta’s technical expertise to round out the event.

“This new collaboration is part of PMA’s strategy to help the industry build consumer connections by linking members to the people, markets and insights needed to grow business and increase consumption,” Nancy Tucker, PMA’s vice president of global business development, said in the press release. “This event is designed to help industry members build connections — to experts, ideas, trends and talent — so produce and floral companies can focus on building consumer demand for the products they grow, ship and sell.”

“Merging the biggest event of the fruit and vegetables industry in Chile, Fruittrade, with the global outreach of PMA will offer even greater opportunities for the whole region,” Fedefruta Chairman Cristián Allendes added in the press release. “Fedefruta, together with PMA, Yentzen Group and support from ProChile — the Export Promotion Bureau from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, will turn Fruittrade into the main business meeting point for the produce industry in Latin America.”

Gustavo Yentzen, president and founder of Yentzen Group agreed, adding in the press release, “This alliance creates a unique opportunity for the Chilean and Latin American industry — the power to bring together the entire marketing chain of fruit and vegetables from Latin America in one place.”