A few days ago, Italy's leading economic newspaper Sole24Ore also highlighted in an article (link here) how Cesena Fiera, the Italian company that organizes Macfrut, has set a new record with its 2021 balance sheet being the best ever with a turnover of 6 million Euros, compared to 5.3 million Euros in 2019, and without overlooking the fact that in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Macfrut Digital allowed the Cesena trade fair to close with a slight profit and without resorting to redundancies or even layoffs.
Moreover, similar fruit and vegetable shows, such as Madrid and Berlin, have recently announced changes in their top management, a sign that managing such events is not easy, regardless of the pandemic context.
Renzo Piraccini in an archive photo
As a matter of fact, after the Spanish Fruit Attraction closed the 2021 edition with 30% less visitors (65 thousand this year against 90 thousand of the previous in-person edition) and 1,300 exhibitors (500 less than 2019) have opted for a change of the director for the 2022 edition, in October. Instead, the Berlin-based Fruit Logistica pulled out of this year's spring edition and elected a new project leader for the next show in February 2022. The results will be decided by the market. (cf. Sole24Ore)
Macfrut aims at achieving an international showcase through the Expo Dubai. The novelties will be presented at the Expo Dubai, in the exhibition stands of the Emilia-Romagna Region, on 10 December. From 4 to 6 May 2022, the 32nd edition will be held at the Rimini Expo Centre, together with the International Cherry Symposium together with top international experts.
"We are an exception in the national exhibition panorama because we have a very young and specialized team with 11 out of 14 people working in the agri-food sector. We have not stopped even in the midst of Covid, by setting up a real digital fair that has allowed us to close the 2020 budget with a profit. Another record of Cesena's trade fair industry is that, in 37 years of activity, it has never closed with a deficit. On the contrary, in 2021 will celebrate the company's best turnover ever,” said President Renzo Piraccini.