Madrid has just closed another Fruit Attraction. According to figures reported by the trade press after the show, the 18th edition (6–8 October 2026) brought more than 121,000 professional visitors from over 150 countries and about 2,500 exhibiting companies from 78 countries to IFEMA Madrid, with 7 October the busiest day in the venue's history. For Brazilian fruit exporters, the numbers matter less than the conversations: European buyers are asking more questions, and they are asking them earlier in the process.
The Northeast is the heart of Brazil's fruit export business. According to a Movimento Econômico report of 29 September 2026, the region exported US$ 961.34 million in fruit in 2025, around 66% of the Brazilian total, and roughly 907,000 tonnes, about 70% of national volume. In the first half of 2026, regional exports reached US$ 400.88 million, up 23.86% in value and 12.15% in volume year on year. Mango, melon, grape, watermelon and lime are the main fruits sold to Europe.
The same report notes that price and quality are no longer the only buying criteria. Traceability, sustainability, food safety, regularity of supply, technology and logistics efficiency are now part of the conversation. Waldyr Promicia, president of Abrafrutas, was quoted as saying that the international market is more demanding and that Brazilian growers need to be ready to meet these requirements. Brazilian growers attended Madrid under the Frutas do Brasil project, run by Abrafrutas with ApexBrasil.
Two concrete points came from Dom Vicente, a Northeast exporter interviewed by the outlets covering the fair. First, under a European sustainability rule, packaging suppliers must meet standards that exclude harmful chemical compounds, and exporters must present documents proving compliance. Second, the company's phytosanitary certificate now carries one additional item, meant to confirm fruit quality and the absence of certain diseases. Agrolink published a similar account on 18 September 2026.
A note of caution: these reports do not name the exact legal provision or the wording of the extra certificate item. We therefore treat them as buyer-side signals, not as a new EU-wide rule. If a customer cites a specific requirement, ask for the reference.
The most likely legal backdrop for the packaging comments is Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR), which began to apply on 12 August 2026. This is our reading of the context, not a statement made by the exporters quoted above. Trade coverage stresses that the regulation is not an immediate ban on particular packaging formats: individual obligations phase in on dates set by the legislation and later implementing measures.
The element with the most direct effect on fresh produce is the limit on PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in food-contact packaging. According to the Food Packaging Forum, the limits are:
The same source notes there is no transitional sale period for packaging first placed on the market after 12 August 2026, and that no harmonised EU test method exists yet. A Commission guidance dated 5 June 2026 suggests a stepwise approach, starting with total fluorine. For a Brazilian exporter, the practical consequence is simple: cartons, trays, liners, films and pads are now part of your compliance file, not just a cost line.
Every importing country sets its own plant-health conditions, which can cover pest management, inspections, treatments, registered production units and packing houses. Brazil's agriculture ministry (MAPA) issues the phytosanitary certificate when those conditions are met, and the electronic ePhyto system has now issued more than 100,000 certificates, according to CompreRural (23 September 2026). Dutch authority NVWA, for example, publishes lists of additional declarations that can be required on certificates for fruit and vegetables, which shows how specific the wording can be by product and origin.
The lesson for suppliers is to read the certificate requirement for each product and destination before the season starts, and to confirm with the importer that the text of the certificate matches the import conditions. A missing or mismatched line can delay clearance at the port of entry, and it is far cheaper to settle it in advance.
Buyers want to know where fruit comes from and how it was grown. Industry coverage describes the expected records as origin, field treatments, lot information, processing, packaging and destination, kept in a form that supports buyer audits. Private schemes such as GLOBALG.A.P. are not legally mandatory for all exports, but many buyers make them a condition of supply. Pesticide residues remain a separate point: EU maximum residue limits apply to imported and domestic food alike, and a substance accepted in Brazil may have a different limit in Europe, so application records, waiting periods and laboratory analyses matter.
Importers who ask for documents early tend to get better answers from suppliers. A short written specification, covering packaging materials, certificate wording, traceability depth and certification expectations, helps both sides avoid surprises at the port. Brazilian suppliers are also looking at other markets: the Northeast exporters interviewed mentioned Asia, Canada and Russia, so well-organised European buyers have an advantage in securing volume.
Trivalli Comércio Global Ltda. is a Brazilian exporter of green coffee and fresh fruit. If you are planning your 2026–27 fruit programme and want to align packaging, documents and traceability with your specification, contact us through www.trivalli.com.br.
