MedFEL 2017 pledges to attract 120 international buyers
MedFEL 2017 is due to take place this April 25 to 27 at the Parc des Expositions in Perpignan. Organised by Sud de France Développement and the Occitanie/Pyrénées‐
MedFEL is the only international fruit and vegetable event taking place in France. For three days, Perpignan becomes the Mediterranean’s agricultural capital. Its main goal is to combine the entire French F&V offering with those of other countries around the Mediterranean (Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco etc.).
MedFEL is strengthening its pivotal role in developing the fruit and vegetable business in the international arena by scheduling even more B2B meetings. In 2017, Sud de France Développement plans to redouble its efforts to recruit international buyers, targeting a contingent of 120 buyers from across the globe. Selection of these buyers will be consistent with the entire MedFEL offering. 6,122 visitors converged on Perpignan for the fair’s 8th edition along with 246 exhibitors from the Mediterranean basin, generating a total of over 2,948 B2B meetings.
For this 9th edition, MedFEL is debuting some major innovations: The organic fruit and vegetable offering, including products awarded an official quality label, is significantly larger and will be promoted more effectively by means of dedicated signage and presentations.
MedFEL is extending its harvest forecasts for French and in some cases European crops, covering a high proportion of overall production. In addition to the outlook for apricots, melons and peaches, this year will feature harvest forecasts for cherries, plums, grapes,
strawberries, carrots, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers.
On day 3 of the fair, MedFEL is placing its expertise at the service of exhibiting businesses by organising a job dating event. In collaboration with the region’s main training schools, companies can meet a selection of candidates whose profiles match the sector’s
requirements.
MedFEL will also adopt a more ambitious format by integrating more digital technologies; the aim is to showcase innovations from exhibiting businesses and bring more interactivity to the MedFEL debates on issues facing the fruit and vegetable sector.
MedFEL takes place in the Occitanie/Pyrénées Méditerranée region, France’s 2nd largest ’farming region both geographically and by the number of businesses and jobs. It is also the 2nd largest for fruit production with 19% of the country’s available land, 4th largest for vegetable production with 10% of land and 2nd largest for seed production with 24% of land. MedFel aims to bring together the entire
French fruit and vegetable sector, while remaining a top quality business convention but on a people sized scale. MedFEL is continuing the MedFEL Tech adventure in order to anchor the event around upstream production. It has set itself the target of opening up more sales outlets for exhibitors by improving recruitment of international buyers both quantitatively and qualitatively, while at the same time ensuring that meetings are organised optimally.
