The potential of the professional social network LinkedIn is greatly underestimated In Eastern Europe, especially in the fruit and vegetable sector. However, it is here that the target audience gathers, including that for exporters of vegetables and fruits when it comes to supplies outside the CIS.
At the same time, the EastFruit’s page in LinkedIn has gathered more than 1,000 subscribers last week, becoming the main source of information about the produce business in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
“Diversification of the export of fruit and vegetables outside the traditional markets is one of the most challenging tasks for farmers and vegetable growers in the region given a decrease in Russian imports and increased competition in the regional market. Thanks to the information shared by the English page of the EastFruit website on LinkedIn many importers and supermarket chains in the EU, Middle East and Asia have become interested in importing grapes, plums and apples from Moldova, cherries, dried fruits, watermelon, melons and onions from Uzbekistan, niche products from Tajikistan, feijoa, kiwi and blueberries from Georgia,” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
He advises all entrepreneurs who are interested in exporting their products outside the CIS, and even those who work in the CIS logistics market, to register online. In addition, he points to the fact that the EastFruit platform is open for export promotion and can be used now for free. In this case, the exporter or producer must confirm his readiness to export, namely: sufficient volumes for exports, knowledge of international requirements for the quality and safety of products, in particular, the availability of GlobalGAP certification, and HACCP for processors; fluency in English; active websites or pages in social networks containing information about the company and its products in English; understanding of international logistics and international trade as a whole.
EastFruit experts will help businesses that meet these criteria prepare promotional materials in English and post them on the Eastfruit’s page and on the LinkedIn platform to facilitate the search for partners. This information will be seen by an average of 5-30 thousand people – exclusively from the fruit and vegetable sector.
In addition, companies can use the LinkedIn trading group “Fruits and Vegetables” to directly promote their products. However, the efficiency will be lower there.
For those who work mainly in the markets of the former USSR countries, we recommend the most popular Telegram platform EF Trade Platform with more than 18 thousand participants. It is the only platform of its kind in terms of the number of participants and the live update of publications on the East-Fruit.com website visited by about 1 million people annually.
The use of the site materials is free if there is a direct and open for search engines hyperlink to a specific publication of the East-Fruit.com website.
