Leaders and key players of the cherry industry from all four corners of the world met in Chile on Thursday for what was a hugely successful second edition of the annual Global Cherry Summit.

The event, which took place in the Monticello Conference Center in San Francisco de Mostazal, was organized by Yentzen Group, Produce Business magazine, and the Chilean Cherry Committee of fruit exporters' association ASOEX.

The Global Cherry Summit 2019 welcomed around 700 industry professionals and more than 50 exhibiting companies from countries including Chile, China, the U.S., the U.K., Peru, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and Mexico, making this edition a larger and more international affair than the inaugural event in April last year.

Guests were treated to a series of insightful and eye-opening educational sessions and panel discussions, which analyzed the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the global cherry industry as it continues to grow at a rapid pace.

The commercially-focused sessions, which included "The cherry industry on the global stage", "China in numbers: The consumer and the imported cherry industry", "Global trends in cherry marketing", and "The Chilean cherry industry by 2025" captivated attendees and provided valuable information that will be essential for companies to thrive in the future.

The event also saw Liu Zhi, general manager of Chinese importer and logistics company Dalian Yidu, presented with the Cherry Visionary Award for his work advancing the industry.

"The second edition of the Global Cherry Summit was another overwhelming success," said Gustavo Yentzen, general manager of Yentzen Group and founder of FreshFruitPortal.com. "This unique event is consolidating itself as the meeting point of the cherry industry worldwide, and a place for industry leaders to come together, learn, share ideas and place themselves in an excellent position for the future."

Attendees we spoke to provided excellent feedback about the event.

Andrés Fuenzalida, general manager of Copefrut - one of Chile's largest fruit exporters and a leading player in the cherry industry - said: "We think that it is a great event. On this opportunity, here we launched our new corporate image because we feel that the event brings together the biggest players in the cherry industry."

"The speakers and the organization have been really good," he said, highlighting that he found the educational session on the Chinese market particularly useful and relevant for Chile.

Rogelio Busto, the reefer director of Hapag-Lloyd, said: "We see very positive evolution compared to the first event. It is very well organized and very interesting topics were addressed. There are also more attendees than last year."

Javier Mozó, commercial manager of MM Packaging said: "This year has surprised me by the quality of the event, especially the speakers. I was particularly interested in the people from China who have spoken about the market, about the consumption trends, and I think that that is vital for all actors of the supply chain for that market."

Below is a small selection of photos from the Global Cherry Summit 2019. Stay tuned for more coverage over the coming days.