The potato will be the star product of this year’s show, and China and the UAE are the focus of the Guest Importing Countries programme
Fruit Attraction held an event to mark the official launch of its 18th edition this week. Organisers Ifema Madrid and Fepex said the fair, which will be held from 6-8 October at the Ifema Trade Fair Centre in Madrid, is already 90 per cent booked.
The event was attended by the show’s director, María José Sánchez, Cecilio Peregrín and Ignacio Antequera, president and director of Fepex, respectively, and María Naranjo, director of Food Industry at trade promotion agency Icex.
The organisers confirmed that the potato will be this year’s star product as it is considered a strategic sector due to its contribution to food safety and for maintaining a healthy diet. China and the UAE will feature in the Guest Importing Countries programme.
According to Ifema, net exhibition space allocated to date totals 72,000m2, just 2,000m2 short of last year’s total, and companies from 63 countries are confirmed to be exhibiting.
“All in all, the forecasts for the next edition are very optimistic with participation figures of more than 2,500 companies, 80,000m2 of fresh fruit and vegetable produce on offer and an attendance of more than 121,000 professionals from 150 countries,” the organisers said.
Fruit Attraction 2026 will occupy 10 halls – 162,000m2 gross space – and will maintain last year’s distribution and sectorisation to make it easier for industry professionals to visit. The odd-numbered halls, 3, 5, 7 and 9, will host the national offer, as well as Innova&Tech. The even-numbered halls, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14, will be hosting the international offer with Europe, America, Africa, Asia and other companies from outside our borders, as well as the Fresh Food Logistics area , which will once again be located in hall 4. In addition, to complete the exhibition offer, most of the halls will have an Auxiliary Industry area, ensuring the representation of the sector’s entire value chain at Fruit Attraction.
The trade fair is once again promoting the Organic Tour, a specially signposted route within Fruit Attraction that will give greater visibility to companies promoting organically certified products.
In addition, Fruit Attraction will offer a platform for international promotion and expansion with the ‘International Buyers Programme’ which, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Icex and Fepex, will invite 700 major buyers, retail purchasing managers, importers and wholesalers from more than 50 countries to the event. This year’s Guest Importing Countries programme will feature China and the UAE.
For the third time, Fruit Attraction will also award the Best Stand Awards, sponsored by WAH. Prizes will be given in four categories: Most Original Stand; Best Designed Stand; Most Sustainable Stand and Visitor’s Favourite Stand.
Once again, Fruit Attraction is launching the Innovation Hubs Awards, which will reward the best project, product or service for the industry, always assessing the criteria of innovation, sustainability, applied technology and knowledge. As in previous years, all the entries will be exhibited in the Innovation Hub area over the three days of the fair.
Fruit Attraction will also feature different forums hosting a full programme of technical seminars. These include the Avocado Congress and the Biofruit Congress, among other events.
