Uncertainty unsettles assumptions about Fresh Summit

This era of COVID-19 uncertainty is getting old.

Here is a recent Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group poll question:

If your company has exhibited at PMA Fresh Summit in the past, are you planning to exhibit this year? How will COVID-19 change the show?

Yes, I will attend and exhibit 38%
I will attend but not exhibit 17%
I won’t attend this year 21%
Undecided about attending 25%

With 72 votes cast and one week remaining on the poll, it is plain to see there are no unanimous intentions regarding the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Expo in October.

Of course, the questions are not exclusive to PMA’s Fresh Summit, but the show is the annual headliner for produce industry gatherings. Fresh Summit is the most anticipated and important produce show of the year, so it naturally will get the most scrutiny.

In every year we can remember pre-COVID, PMA’s Fresh Summit was executed flawlessly, with growth built on growth.

This year, there are questions instead of assumptions. What will international attendance be like? Will retailers be allowed by their corporate minders to travel to the show? What type of precautionary COVID-19 rules will be in place at Fresh Summit?

Cathy Burns, CEO of PMA, issued a helpful short video update on the latest news about Fresh Summit.

Importantly, she pointed attendees to PMA’s Fresh Summit health and safety web page for updates as they happen.

Aug. 6 figures from the CDC show that the number of Louisiana people over 18 who are fully vaccinated totaled 47.4% of the state’s 18+ population. That compares with 63.8% of the 18+ population in Delaware, for example. Will Louisiana’s relatively slow progress with vaccinations influence the decisions of attendees?

Of course, not all questions can or need to be answered now. Fresh Summit will happen. The question is, what will it look like?