On Freshfromflanders.com, VLAM, Flanders’ Agricultural Marketing Board, wants to put Flemish suppliers of fresh produce in touch with foreign importers. To this end we above all use a product-oriented approach, using a whole range of specialised product websites that fall under the umbrella of freshfromflanders.com.
About VLAM
VLAM promotes the products of Flemish agriculture, horticulture and fishing at home and abroad. That promotion is above all per product or product group. In concrete terms that means pork, beef, meat products, poultry, eggs, rabbit, fruit & vegetables, potatoes, seed potatoes, potato products, dairy specialities, plants & flowers, fish, seeds and organic products. Outside Belgium, VLAM above all works business to business. Through trade journals and by participating in trade fairs and events, VLAM puts international importers of fresh produce in touch with Flemish suppliers, export companies and wholesalers.
Flanders, the northern half of Belgium
Belgium, with Brussels as its capital, consists of three regions. The northern half of the country, Flanders, is Dutch speaking. In the Brussels-Capital Region, both Dutch and French are official languages. And in Wallonia in the south, the French and German speaking communities are situated. Geographically speaking there are also major differences: Flanders is at a lower altitude and more densely populated; Wallonia has a more distinctive and higher relief and is less densely populated. These differences also explain the difference between the agricultural and horticultural production of the regions.
Specialised crops in Flanders
In Flanders, the focus is primarily on intensive production, such as pig farms, highly technological horticulture and the production of fruit and vegetables. Sectors that achieve added value thanks to their know-how are also well represented in Flanders, for example the young plant sector, dairy production, meat product companies and potato processing which is highly specialised.
In Wallonia, producers can make use of their additional space, which translates into more extensive farming.
This site focuses on products from Flanders.
Between the government and companies
VLAM’s goal, with which it has been charged by the Flemish government and industry, is to provide the marketing for the products and services of the Flemish agriculture, horticulture, fishing and agro-food sector at home and abroad in active cooperation with as many links in the chain as possible.
To this end, the Flemish government subsidises VLAM’s operations, so that we can organise ourselves efficiently and offer various areas of expertise to the different product groups. Regardless of whether it concerns communication, market research or foreign trade.
In addition, sums are collected from the various players of the affiliated sectors such as meat, fruit & vegetables, horticulture, dairy, etc. What is important, is that the money collected by a sector is only used to promote that same sector. For some campaigns, VLAM can furthermore count on European co-financing.
To prepare and execute such campaigns, VLAM collaborates very closely with the companies themselves. Together with the representatives of the sector, the VLAM team determines the strategy and together they develop targeted campaigns. What is unique about this way of working, is that we link the expertise of the VLAM staff with the producers’, retailers’ and exporters’ know-how.
