The most international Macfrut ever has opened today

Macfrut 2024, the international showcase of the fresh produce supply chain, kicks off today at Rimini Expo Centre and, until May 10, will offer professionals the proposals of 1,400 exhibitors from all over the world representing the entire supply chain, thematic salons, a hundred events about trends and tendencies of the sector, and a double test field of about 3,000 square meters on fruit and vegetable innovation. 

Renzo Piraccini, President of Macfrut, opened the day:

"We are inaugurating today a record edition, the only one that brings together the entire sector chain. We are a fair that in addition to business adds knowledge, so much so that if you want to know the future of fruit and vegetables, it is to Macfrut that you must come. It is this format that makes us unique and sets us apart in the world panorama of sector events."

The foreign presence is strong with 40 percent of exhibitors from abroad, making Macfrut the most international agrifood event in Italy, joined by 1,500 top buyers thanks to the fundamental support of ITA – Italian Trade Agency. International partner area is the Arabian Peninsula, present with about a hundred buyers, while partner region is Puglia with its productions of excellence, starting with table grapes, the symbolic product of the 41st edition of the fair. Protagonist of the three-day event is fruit and vegetables, a central sector in Italian agribusiness. Exports of fresh and canned fruit and vegetables in 2023 reached 11.6 billion euros, 5.7 of which came from fresh produce. A total of 300 thousand farms in Italy are involved, covering 1.3 million hectares for a production of about 24 million tons of fruits and vegetables (source: Ismea).

An international Macfrut

A distinctive feature of this 41st edition of Macfrut is its strong international character, with more than 40 percent of exhibitors from four Continents. Starting with Africa, at the fair with 400 exhibitors from 24 countries with many firsts as in the case of Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Namibia and Togo. Confirmations with expanded areas include Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique and Mali with 37 companies. Another important area is the South American Continent thanks to collectives from Chile, Panama and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina. And again, the Arabian Peninsula with a hundred buyers from that area with the presence also of Emirates SkyCargo for business opportunities and logistics hub in that area. On the new entry front we find India, also present with about 50 top buyers, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Brazil and Argentina, while in the European sphere important is the presence of 22 wholesalers from the two main markets of Spain (Madrid and Barcelona). Also on the international front, 13 AICS offices (Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development) international are present out of the agency's 19 worldwide.

There are 1,500 top buyers from around the world in the type of product, technology and supply chain.

Table grapes and thematic salons

Macfrut is characterized as a content fair about industry trends and tendencies with specific thematic focuses together with top experts, researchers and global players from all over the world. Evidence of this is table grapes, the symbolic product of this 41st edition, at the center of the Macfrut Table Grape Symposium, the World Symposium that during the three days of the fair attracts top experts and major global players to take stock of research, market trends, production trends, product innovation, and business strategies.

On the salons front, all coordinated by a team of experts, we find Biosolutions International Event with some 70 exhibitors, making Macfrut the most important event in Europe when it comes to natural products for plant defense, nutrition and biostimulation.

Plant Nursery area is dedicated to the nursery supply chain, which also hosts the International Rootstocks Symposium (IRS), while Spices & Herbs Global Expo is dedicated to spices, herbs and medicinal plants. Pianeta Rosso focuses on the tomato supply chain, Acqua Campus on water-saving innovations and technologies. New additions include Innovation Hub For Healthy Food, on sustainable processing products and technologies for the production of foods with high nutritional value, and the Agrivoltaic Show on the opportunities offered by photovoltaic energy generation to complement agricultural production.

Present at the fair is a double trial field on an area of about 3,000 square meters divided into two pavilions: one dedicated to fruit growing, the other to above-ground, market and industrial horticulture and mechanization.