For the 2015 edition, Fruit Attraction expects to reach 1,000 exhibitors and welcome 50,000 professionals from the horticultural sector from over 90 countries.
In an interview to Raúl Calleja, director of Fruit Attraction, we review the objectives and developments of this event which is gradually attracting a greater number of international visitors.
"Fruit Attraction is becoming an increasingly essential platform for the entire European fruit and vegetable production sector. The month of October is key to closing supply contracts around the world, and the fact that it will be held in Madrid, the capital of one of the largest horticultural suppliers worldwide, is providing many international distributors the opportunity to visit us," he affirms.
"This is also leading to us working more and more with partners in other countries outside the EU," states Raúl.
Potential for operators in BRIC countries, Middle East, Latin America and Asia
Since last summer, the Russian veto forced the European horticultural sector to diversify into other export markets outside the EU.
Raúl Calleja points out that the Indian and Chinese markets are increasingly interesting for European exports. "The fruit and vegetable varieties that are available today have an increasingly longer shelf life, which together with the innovations in packaging has led us to seek more distant markets," he explains.
"Asia, along with the BRIC countries, the Middle East and Latin America, will be the focus at the B2B Fruit New Markets, a space for business meetings within the fair for traders and buyers in markets outside the EU.
This year there will be no overlap with the PMA Fresh Summit
Unlike the previous edition, Fruit Attraction will be held in late October, from 28 to 30, so as not to overlap with the PMA Fresh Summit, which will be held in Atlanta, U.S., between 23 and 25 October, and which is greatly important for the Latin American markets.
According to Calleja, when fairs like this are organised, many factors need to be taken into account, such as the schedule of events around the world. "The PMA is a very important trade fair for the horticultural sector in the Americas. For this reason, we postponed our fair a few days so that all those who may be interested in both events can attend them."
More specific spaces for auxiliary and organic industry
With the goal of continuing to grow internationally, the event will cater to three new sectors.
"The growing international demand for organic products has led to the introduction of THE ORGANIC HUB, a space for companies involved in the organic sector. Moreover, we will include a DISTRIBUTION AND LOGISTICS area, so that the auxiliary industry can have a more identifiable space at the fair. Lastly, the TECH4FRUIT space will serve to present solutions and technological innovations to improve the productivity and quality of fruits and vegetables," explains Raúl Calleja.
Furthermore, the fair will have a workshop devoted to stone fruit with Stone Fruit Attraction, and the International Kaki Congress will also be held for the first time. "We are still considering the possibility of arranging a special space for kiwis," says Raul Calleja. "Our job is to be able to identify key sectors with each edition and, in that sense, make Fruit Attraction more attractive as a European horticultural platform. We believe there are still opportunities to create ties between supply and demand within the fresh sector."
Competing with Fruit Logistica?
According to the latest figures, Fruit Attraction has increased the number of Spanish exhibitors, while the same in Berlin has fallen.
"There are differences in the participation costs and in the visitors' profile due to the dates when our event takes place. For this reason, Spanish stands are not as massively popular at Fruit Logistica, since such visits have already been made previously at Fruit Attraction," he says.
"We have only been holding this event for six years and we can still only wish to reach Fruit Logistica's overall figures, but we are investing every year in the profile of horticultural operators, who come every year in greater numbers and quality. I don't think we are competing with Fruit Logistica. As long as there is room for a number of events covering different times of the year and different products, things will be more interesting for everyone," concludes Raúl Calleja.