The 7th version of the International Strawberry Symposium, organised by the ISHS, took place this year 2012 from the 18th to the 22nd of February in Beijing, the capital of China, and more particularly in the Chaoping district northwest of the city. This event, which takes place once every four years, gathered more than a thousand strawberry professionals such as scientists, growers, nurserymen, councillors, professors, and merchants, and offered a large quantity of conferences during which the latest news about the world’s strawberry industry were presented.
It was also an opportunity to meet new people, to greet friends met at previous symposiums, and to create or renew business relations.

So, Novafruit was not going to miss it, and especially considering that since the foundation of his company, Simon Parent, had promised himself to go to each of the upcoming symposiums in order to keep up-to-date with the industry’s latest advancements at the international level, and adapt them to the local one.

These meetings are a unique occasion to share know-how and good times with colleagues and strawberry friends in an inspiring context. China’s symposium impressed mainly due to its size and wide extent, and this, at all levels: many buildings dedicated exclusively to the symposium, hundreds of volunteers and workers, temporary and permanent expositions centers on different aspects of the strawberry...

Basically, it consisted in a week of work and pleasure in an unknown continent, a discovery of China with its rich culture and its long history, of the continuous whisper of a completely different language, the initiation to surprising tastes and flavours...

Looking forward to the next symposium in four years… in Québec!!!