Citrosol holds a seminar in Egypt to show how to overcome the post-harvest barriers to exporting to China and Australia

Citrosol recently deployed a post-harvest technical seminar in Egypt, organized jointly with the Mediterranean Basin country’s Agricultural Export Council (AEC). Around a hundred or so operators and agents from the sector took part in this industry professionals’ event. The lectures given by Citrosol’s representatives were varied and addressed topics related to treatments, hygiene and post-harvest innovation. "Citrosol is a market leader in Egypt with the principal exporters having been working with us for many years. We are increasingly respected for the added value we bring to the table with our consultation expertise, level of  service, application equipment and our premium quality products", Director of International Operations and agricultural engineer, Julio Marín, explained after the seminar, "Furthermore, the presentation by the consultant, Paco Mora, covering the latest technological advances in post-harvest machinery was a great success. " Today, Egyptian exporters need specific and varied treatments to preserve their fruit for long periods of transport. "Our recommendations are helping them to reach Middle Eastern countries without any difficulty, and they are experiencing excellent results with the use of our equipment and products seen as vital to reach countries like China or Australia" added Julio Marín. Distant markets and the limitation in the use of active substancesThe exportation to distant markets was the center of interest for much of the seminar, principally to the Asiatic countries, like China, and to Oceania, primarily Australia. In the presentation covering treatments, given by Juan Carlos Martín Loeches, an agricultural engineer and one of Citrosol’s international commercial technicians, the post-harvest programs exporters needed to allow the shipping of fruit in perfect condition were outlined. Along with exportation, the other major topic of discussion was the limitation in the use of active materials. In this regard, Julio Marín described some of Citrosol’s numerous solutions; drencher treatments, automatic dosing systems and the Zero® Discharge System (which improves the homogeneity of the deposited product and makes for more reliable results), Citrosol AS UE waxes that allow for lower energy consumption and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, tools for disinfection where Glocuat PC and Citroguanida LU stand out and the reduction of Chilling Injury and other rind disorders with tools such as Fortisol®Ca and Fortisol® Ca PLUS. "In Citrosol we strive to provide the industry facing increasingly demanding markets and the end customers such as the supermarket chains with new solutions" he said. HygieneJorge Bretó, a biologist and technical coordinator, gave an interesting presentation on hygiene and cleanliness, in which he presented Citrosol’s disinfection programs based on the use of Glocuat PC and Citroguanida LU with the X3 Nebulizer. Citrosol’s cleaning and disinfection plans reduce the load of inocula in the packing houses and mitigate both the risk of resistant strains developing and the quantity of fungal spores which are not controlled by the usual fungicides, simultaneously addressing an issue of the greatest importance, that of Food Safety. In short, as Bretó explained, this technical seminar,, "has led to an enriching debate that has served to answer some of the industry’s most pressing issues such as decay, resistance, new destinations and the limiting of the use of active materials."