Organisers say the 7th edition of Fruit Attraction, held in Madrid October 28-30, was the most comprehensive to date.
The fair beat all its records, reinforcing its role as the EU’s main platform for marketing fruit and vegetables, the organisers, IFEMA and FEPEX, said in a press release.
Highlights from the fair data:
- A total of 49,367 professionals from 100 countries attended, up 22% on the previous year.
- The number of exhibitors grew 23%, with 1,028 companies from 25 countries.
- The exhibition area expanded 22% to 33,046 m2.
- The number of international participants increased 46%, with a total of 9,812 professionals from 100 countries.
- The number of international exhibitors rose to 27% of the total.
- Visitors from Italy, France, Portugal, Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Poland and Belgium accounted for 86% of the total number of participants from outside Spain.
- The ‘B2BFruit New Markets’ area hosted more than 200 business meetings between exhibitors and buyers from 15 countries.
- The International Guest Programme brought over 600 professionals to Madrid from the purchasing and distribution chains of 53 countries.
- An extensive programme of activities with some 2,000 attendees ran in parallel to the commercial activity
FEPEX and IFEMA said a special mention should go to the Latin American professionals who were present at the fair. They came from 16 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Argentina, joining North American attendees from the US and Canada.
“A large number of professionals also came from the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), especially Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Jordan. Asian and African countries, such as China, Korea, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal, Mali and Angola also increased their presence at this edition, showing the growing diversification of Spanish and European exports.”
They said the exhibition area featuring fruit and vegetable producers and suppliers was once again the area with the strongest participation, with 70% of the display and 714 exhibitors. The ancillary services sector was also well represented, with 30% of the display and 291 exhibitors.
“For this edition, the suppliers’ area was reorganised into a production area and a distribution area. The professional visitors were therefore able to visit Auxiliary Industry and Distribution and Logistics companies in order to find the best suppliers to distribute their products in optimum conditions, and at Tech4Fruits, they discovered solutions and technological innovations for improving productivity and production quality,” the organisers said.
Among other highlights:
- A new exhibition area, the Organic Hub, for companies offering organic fruit and vegetable products, attracted the participation of 50 companies.
- The Technical Events Programme held in parallel with the trade exhibition offered many activities and talks, among them the 1st International Persimmon Symposium, Kaki Attraction, focusing on the realities of producing and marketing this fruit, and the 2nd Stone Fruit Attraction, whose aim is to promote Spanish stone fruit production.
- The Pasarela Innova area showcased 37 new products offered by participants.
- The Fruit Fusion gastronomy area was a forum providing information, innovation and interpretation of the best farm products available to the catering industry.
- Food donations: the Madrid Food Bank collected over 30,200 kg of fruit and vegetable products from the fair, 5,000 more than last year.
The next edition of Fruit Attraction will be held October 5-7, 2016.
See Eurofresh Distribution’s #FA15 photo gallery.
