Annual Report 2006 - International Nut and Dried Fruit Council

THE INTERNATIONAL NUT AND DRIED FRUIT COUNCIL (I.N.C.)The I.N.C. mission and objectivesLetter of the ChairmanThe International Nut and Dried FruitCouncil (I.N.C.) is a non-profit organizationformed in 1983 in Paris, whosemission is to be the internationalsource for information on nuts anddried fruits for health, nutrition, foodsafety, Government Standards andGovernment Regulations regardingtrade barriers and trade quality standards.The I.N.C. represents almonds,Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts,macadamias, pecans, pinenuts, pistachios,walnuts, apricots, dates, figs,prunes, raisins and peanuts.I.N.C.'s objectives include:Increasing understanding about production, processing,marketing, distribution and consumptiontrends in the nut and dried fruit industry.Increasing market access by monitoring customsduties and trade barriers and advise interveninggovernments on behalf of INC membership.Assuring global quality standards and tradingterms are within the framework of existing nationaland international bodies and do not inhibit tradewithin the industry.Promoting research, (especially nutrition andeducation) and new product development.Promoting international cooperation by interactingwith various public, private, national and internationalorganizations, which share our commongoals.Increasing goodwill and mutual understanding ofthe nut and dried fruit industry by promoting internationalmeetings in producing and consumingcountries.Cuneyd Zapsu, founder of BALSU, served onINC's Executive Committee since 1997 before hiselection as President of INC at the Cape TownConvention in 2002 and later become the firstINC Chairman in Istanbul Congress in 2003.He was long-time President of the IstanbulExporters Union and co-founded and co-chairedboth, the Turkish Hazelnut Promotion Groupand the World Hazelnut Council.Among his various memberships are the TurkishIndustrialist and Businessmen Association and theWorld Economic Forum (Davos). He is ExecutiveMember of the Turkish-American BusinessCouncil and TESEV theTurkish Economic and SocialStudies Foundation.He resigned his position as CEOof Azizler Holding after theTurkish political Justice andDevelopment Party, of which he isFounder and Board Member, wona landslide victory at the Turkishparliamentarian elections inNovember 2002 and built the newgovernment. Since then, he is theSpecial Assistant and Information Coordinator tothe Turkish Prime Minister R. Tayyip Erdogan.first Exponut Trade show in Istanbul last June,exhibited at the IFT annual show in Orlando andsponsored the Symposium "Tree nuts: nutraceuticals,phytochemicals and health aspects", we exhibitedat the PTNPA convention and trade show inMiami, and attended the annual meeting of theEuropean Dried Fruit last November in Hamburg.Through our Scientific Committee we have activelyparticipated at the Codex Committee meetings,at the EFSA conference on Health and NutritionClaims.With the intention to be the "international library"for the nut and dried fruit industry, according toour new mission, we have focused our efforts onbuilding a database within a new web site of worldinformation from all sources.We have also produced a newDVD which is a record of pastcongresses and conventions, wehave now Merchandising with theINC logo and we distributed golden,silver and bronze pins to ourmembers.We continue to reprint thebrochure "Nutrition in EveryHandful" and updating the "GoNuts Go Healthy" brochure in differentlanguages. Our monthly"Newsletter" is now also includingnew on dried fruits and peanuts and completingour quarterly printed "The Cracker" magazine.The Reus Chamber of Commerce in Spain hosts I.N.C. headquarters. The Permanent Secretariatis managed by Ms. Goretti Guasch, member of the Executive Committee and responsible toachieve the written objectives of INC by working closely with the members of the Board ofDirectors and assisting the Chairman in his duties.Thank you Baljit, Steven and the MontrealOrganizing Committee for organizing anothergreat and very successful convention with over 500participants from 34 countries in Montreal.There have been many ongoing activities that supportthe new INC objectives. Just to name a few ofthose: We exhibited and delivered a speech at theAll of these activities and more to come will bevital to keep nuts and dried fruits in the news forthe years ahead when our crops will be larger thanpresently. We continue to formulate a long termINC strategic plan that will achieve this goal.2Inter national Nut and Dried Fr uit Council Foundation www.nutfr uit.orgCalle Boule 2, planta 3 · 43201 REUS, Spain · Tel.: +34 977 331 416 · Fax: +34 977 315 028 · E-mail: inc@nutfr uit.orgInter national Nut and Dried Fr uit Council Foundationwww.nutfr uit.orgCalle Boule 2, planta 3 · 43201 REUS, Spain · Tel.: +34 977 331 416 · Fax: +34 977 315 028 · E-mail: inc@nutfr uit.org3