Macfrut, the international trade fair for the fresh produce industry scheduled at Rimini Expo Center, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a record-breaking edition. 60,000 square metres of exhibition space, 35% more than last year (two more pavilions); 50% more foreign exhibitors, representing 38% of the total, 1,500 major international buyers: these are some of the record numbers of the 40th edition of Macfrut, the international fruit and vegetable trade fair, which opened this morning and is scheduled to run until Friday 5 May at the Rimini Expo Center. An event with an increasingly international focus, with South America as a partner and protagonist in an entire pavilion, Mexico and Saudi Arabia exhibiting for the first time, Egypt present with a maxi stand with 22 companies, a pavilion dedicated to Africa with 19 countries and the return of China with 32 companies, for the first time at an agri-food fair since Covid.
Renzo Piraccini, President of Macfrut, is pleased with this record-breaking edition. «Today we are inaugurating a turning point for Macfrut and, in general, for the fresh produce industry: we have achieved extraordinary results, the result of great teamwork. We have forgotten how good we are in Italy when we work together. It is a small miracle what we have achieved with Macfrut, a miracle of which we should all be proud; the joint presence of the three organisations of the agricultural world (Confagricultura, CIA, Coldiretti) comforts us in holding an event that lives up to the standards of this sector».
Matteo Zoppas, president of the ICE Agency, focused on the weight of the sector in foreign trade. «According to 2022 data, around 60 billion euros of exports come from the agri-food sector and 101% of these, around 5.6 billion euros, come from the fruit and vegetable sector. This figure confirms Italy as the third country in Europe and the tenth in the world, with an export share of 2.81% of exports. These are important results, especially considering the last two years marked by global upheavals such as the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. As the ICE Agency, we are delighted to be collaborating with this important event. Our role here, in line with the fair, is to give visibility and prominence to the internationalisation of the sector. And we will continue to work together to consolidate Italy's position on the international agri-food scene and generate new opportunities for visibility for our companies.»
