Italy: Good turnout for Macfrut 2012

The 29th edition of Macfrut, the International exhibition of the fruit and vegetable sector held in Cesena Fiera (Italy) from September 26th to 28th, closed with positive results. The large presence of visitors in the exhibition stands, the ideas and proposals presented by 800 exhibitors and a wide range of conferences, give evidence of the liveliness of one of the most important appointments in the sector for the Mediterranean Basin.

Macfrut 2012 took one more step towards the development of commercial relationships between European enterprises working in the sector and international operators, with a special focus on countries such as Africa and the Middle East. Among the key moments that characterized this strategic approach, the workshops on Senegal and Jordan, where qualified participants highlighted the growing role of these countries both in the offer of fresh and processed products and in the demand for technologies for post harvest, packaging and logistics - fundamental elements that qualify exports -, are especially noteworthy.

The presentation of the Enterprise Europe Network, which gathers organizations from more than 50 countries and whose purpose is to support small-sized enterprises that wish to operate in the European Union, was also successful. The round table on the melon organized by Areflh, during which delegations of producers from Spain, France and Italy talked about the difficult trade season, especially in the last two countries, and stressed the need for more cooperation in the promotion and exchange of information concerning crop management, also focused on European cooperation.

The proposals presented, that ranged from fresh and packaged products to marketing services and technologies for selection, processing, packaging and logistics, with the latest solutions proposed by the exhibitors, were also well received.

The President of Cesena Fiera Domenico Scarpellini confirmed that “This year the international participation grew thanks to the presence of institutional authorities as well as buyers and leaders of the GDO (large-scale retail distribution). The 29th edition of Macfrut gave positive results both as regards the presence of exhibitors and visitors, and in terms of the strategic solutions proposed”.

The international dimension of Macfrut will keep on growing also after this edition. Cesena Fiera is already working on the 2013 edition that will focus on the following topics: system, innovation, internationalization and consumption.

For more information please visit www.macfrut.com