Port International and Zeiler Hungária give insights into their sustainable cucumber production
The direct importer of fresh fruit and vegetables Port International and the Hungarian cucumber producer Zeiler Hungária are connected by a long-standing partnership. What makes the production facility so special and distinguishes this collaboration is reported by the two Managing Directors André Lüling (Port International European Sourcing GmbH) and Christian Zeiler (Zeiler Hungária) in a short video that Port International has now published on its website.
Zeiler Hungária is one of several producers that are all part of Port International’s Exclusive Partner Farming program. Other partners will be introduced over the year. “We want to expand the partner program in the future and add more exclusive partnerships,” explains André Lüling. Port International acts as an advisor in the process who develops cultivation concepts together with international supermarkets and closely accompanies the entire supply chain.
The production facility in Hungary is a glasshouse where a special cucumber crop is grown on an area of 5.5 ha on high wire. This results in a harvest volume of 550,000 cucumbers per week with excellent quality. Two geothermal sources supply energy for heating the glasshouse. “Sustainability is really lived here. With Christian Zeiler, we have an experienced producer by our side who is producing at the highest level for years,” says André Lüling. The location is only 30 km from the Austrian border and thus enables short logistical routes to the sales markets. Further features are the numerous hours of sunshine and a specialised team on site. This makes it possible to produce fresh and sustainably for the European food retail seven days a week.
About Port International:
In 1875, the family Port established the company T.Port and, by doing so, laid the foundations for today’s group of companies. Nowadays, Port International supplies wholesalers and supermarket chains all over the world with fresh fruit and vegetables from every continent. The fruit importer with international locations is one of the market leaders for organic and Fairtrade products in Europe and in 2019 launched BE CLIMATE, the first brand of climate-neutral fruit and vegetables. At the end of 2021, the company was awarded the Sustainability Heroes Award in the category “Carbon Footprint”.