Fibe Trade gets more kiwifruit from New Zealand

The still young company Fibe Trade NV was founded in 1973 by Mr. Nic Fissette. Mr. Fissette Sr. is in global management. He is assisted by his two sons Tony and Ludo. Tony Fissette, 33, is responsible for kiwifruit, while Ludo manages New Zealand apples and pears with MR Bels. The fruit that comes from New Zealand is an important mainstay for Fibe Trade. Also, a lot of fruits are imported from Turkey, mainly oranges, grapefruits and lemons. Chilean grapes, cherries and nectarines are also imported. Besides imports, Fibe Trade exports Belgian fruit to the neighboring countries of West Germany and France.

Mr Tony Fissette with fresh kiwis

The address of New Zealand fruit

Mr Tony Fissette

Fibe Trade is one of New Zealand’s leading importers of kiwifruit. “We had around 30% of the total supply and we will certainly maintain this percentage in the new season. Last season, Belgium imported 780,000 trays, this quantity will be increased to 1 million boxes this year. . . which means significantly higher sales for us. We will also need this quantity, because in the past we always had to buy from our colleagues,” says Mr. Tony Fissette. “In the first boat, the ms Ariaki Reefer, we had 25,000 packages and they all disappeared. Because the consumer gets to know the kiwi better each year, sales in Belgium are increasing sharply. Consumption in Belgium is already significantly higher than in, for example, the Netherlands receives 800,000 trays with approximately 15 million inhabitants, while Belgium with approximately 10 million inhabitants receives one million parcels”.

Mr Tony Fissette

The office building with the cold room

Source: Scoop 25 – Volume 1 – June 12, 1987