Italy’s fresh produce sector has received a timely boost as it attempts to overcome the recent economic crisis with the broadly successful rejuvenation of its largest annual trade fair, Macfrut.
This year’s exhibition, which took place on 23-25 September at a new venue, the well-appointed Rimini Expo Centre, offered a welcome chance to instil a much-needed sense of renewed confidence in the Italian fruit and vegetable business following years of decline.
Organiser Cesena Fiera reported solid numbers that bode well for its chances of re-establishing Macfrut as one of the European trade’s essential annual meeting points.
“Things are looking good,” commented the company’s president, Renzo Piraccini. “The preview event of Macfrut 3.2 raised huge interest with 8,000 participants. This year, the number of exhibitors has risen from 800 to more than 1,000, and one out of five is from abroad, representing 30 foreign countries.”
According to Piraccini, around 350 buyers attended the event, whose 33,000m2 exhibition represented a 65 per cent increase on its last meeting in Cesena back in 2013.
“This year, we expect Macfrut to be the greatest so far,” he continued. “And this is thanks to our many partners, above all Unicredit, which agreed to join us, and the administrators who understood the importance and future-oriented approach of this project.”
There are plenty of signs from the trade itself that the Italian fresh produce business is starting to recover.
Exports have reportedly increased by 10 per cent so far this year compared with last year, while household consumption of fruit and vegetables – apparently overtaking meat consumption for the first time ever in terms of sales – is showing modest but steady growth.
Bold approach
Andrea Olivero, Italy’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, said Macfrut’s decision to switch location reflected a more emboldened approach to boosting the horticultural sector.
“In recent years, important work has also been carried out in the field of innovation, paying attention to quality and promoting consumption. Moreover, the new feature added this year, namely, the organisation of show cooking initiatives featuring renowned chefs, plays a crucial role in showing the world the importance of our Mediterranean diet,” he commented.
'In early 2015, things started well for the agricultural sector,' Olivero added. “Yet there is a lot more work to be done. We need to improve some of the phytosanitary barriers, increase the aggregation of production, and focus especially on logistics.
“High energy costs are heavily affecting some of our businesses. Together with Europe, we need to make all our resources available, so that Italy can play its part in the international market.”
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