CESENA FIERA the organizer of MACFRUT – Fruit & Veg Professional Show in Italy and IFEMA, the organizer of FRUIT ATTRACTION, the International Trade Show for the Fruit and Vegetable Industry in Spain, have come to a collaboration agreement to create a new global brand for the fruit and vegetable sector, MAC FRUIT ATTRACTION, with the aim of developing professional industry events in strategic markets. This new platform aims at encouraging the positioning and international professional network of fruit and vegetable companies with direct access to new strategic markets, which will allow them to contact local operators and the area of influence.
The second edition of MAC FRUIT ATTRACTION will be held in Cairo from 22 to 24 April 2017 as part of FoodAfrica following an agreement reached with IFP Group, the largest trade fair operator in the Near East, meaning it will cover the Middle East and North Africa.
Ifpinfo had the following interview with Renzo Piraccini, President of MacFrut Italy.
Q. How does Cesena Fiera help in promoting Italian companies in general?
A. The organizers of these industry-leading events, FRUIT ATTRACTION, the International Trade Show for the Fruit and Vegetable Industry, in Spain, and MACFRUT – Fruit & Veg Professional Show, in Italy, are creating this new platform which will encourage the positioning and international professional network of fruit and vegetable companies with direct access to new strategic markets, which will allow them to contact local operators and the area of influence. This will make MAC FRUIT ATTRACTION into a global brand with high international convening power which adapts to the particular needs of each market.
Q. What are the advantages of participating in exhibitions under your umbrella?
A. Mac Fruit Attraction is organized by IFEMA and CESENA FIERA, two leading trade fair operators from the fruit and vegetable sector’s two most successful exporting countries, Spain and Italy. What’s more, we are responsible for the most important industry events, FRUIT ATTRACTION, the International Trade Show for the Fruit and Vegetable Industry in Spain and MACFRUIT, Fruit & Veg Professional Show, in Italy. We are in an excellent position for exporting our know-how in the fruit and vegetable industry to the sector. Of course, alliances with local operators, in this case IFP, are also a guarantee of success.
Q. What assistance and services do you provide to exhibitors?
A. Macfrut knows very well the companies in fruit and vegetable industry and we provide them the assistance before and during the exhibition.
Q. How many Italian companies are participating in the upcoming Food Africa show?
A. The first edition, also held in Cairo, was attended by about 30 Italian companies out of a total of about 300 participants, with 10,260 visitors from Africa and the Middle East. This trade fair was an opportunity not only for the apple industry but also for introducing other fruit and vegetable produce to new markets, with a special focus on companies specializing in technologies and packaging, of which Italy is the absolute global leader and is broadening its horizons in this field.
For this edition we have we have leading companies in production , packaging and machinery.
Q. Have you organized a country pavilion in any of IFP Group shows in general and what was the outcome?
A. Last year, we held the first edition of Mac Fruit Attraction in the framework of FoodAfrica, which was well received by Italian companies.
Q. What is the trade value between Italy and Egypt and between Italy and Africa in general?
A. Egypt is an increasingly strategic market for Italy, especially for the apple industry. In fact, in just five years, Italy has seen its exports of apples rise from a remarkably low percentage to 16% of its total production. Egypt is the second end market for Italian apples, second only to the German market, which absorbs 36% of this Italian product. Numbers show that: in 2011, Italy exported apples to Egypt to the value of 42 million dollars, whereas in 2015, it more than quadrupled the value of its exports, reaching 197 million dollars.
Q. How do you asses both the African and the Egyptian markets?
A. In Cairo we sent a message to European institutions on the role of the fruit and vegetable industry in Africa’s development: in fact, the fruit and vegetable sector can significantly contribute to the development of African countries and of the Middle East. It can improve the living conditions of its inhabitants, thus reducing migration flows to Europe. If Italian companies in the supply chain cooperate, they can play a key role in this process. Many countries in this region have now become important markets for European and Italian fruit and vegetable produce. And Mac Fruit Attraction, along with our partners of Feria de Madrid, is an integral part of this project.
Q. How do you evaluate Italy’s and European participation in this year’s edition of Food Africa and Mac Fruit?
A. Good. Mac fruit attraction is a great platform for African Countries and Middle East.
ifpinfo
14 April
