Successful edition of INTERPOM PRIMEURS with 20.000 visitors

Happy faces all round after the doors closed on INTERPOM | PRIMEURS 2016! The trade fair in Kortrijk Xpo was the prime spot to talk about the past season, which was characterized by extreme weather conditions, to examine hi-tech innovations and keep up with price movements and of course to launch the new season with confidence! Both exhibitors and visitors appreciate the specialized focus of INTERPOM | PRIMEURS, the participation of the whole chain and the professional approach. The theme of the event: ?Growing through precision technology? underlined the increasing importance of smart technology in agriculture and this was clearly reflected in the many innovations on show on the stands. This 18th edition of the event once again set a new record with 19 938 visitors from no less than 55 different countries. Interest in INTERPOM PRIMEURS is clearly growing far beyond the Belgian borders! Visitors from 55 countries reinforce the internationalization of the eventWe had a full house at INTERPOM PRIMEURS 2016. This year there were 312 exhibitors from 15 countries and19 938 visitors from no less than 55 different countries: 9 333 visitors on Sunday, 5 632 on Monday and 4 973 on the closing day. Taking the 3 days together, that means that the figures are up 2% on those for 2014. With 23.6% of visitors from abroad, INTERPOM PRIMEURS is the largest indoor trade event in Europe ? and in fact worldwide ? for professionals in the potato and vegetable sector, where the whole sector is represented, from growing to marketing.Cocquyt and Dubuisson win the Inno Potato Award 2016 Stefaan & Els Cocquyt of Moerkerke-Damme and S?bastien Dubuisson of Beloeil are the winners of the fourth Inno Potato Award. Their projects were selected by fellow potato growers and the professional jury as the most innovative. Stefaan and Els impressed voters with their specially adapted potato lifter for harvesting early potatoes, and they are the winners for Flanders. S?bastien presented a technique for avoiding storage of potatoes and he was voted the winner for Wallonia. Second and third places went to Franken Agro and Luc Lavens for Flanders. For Wallonia, the second place went to Laurent Legrand and the third place to Baudouin Dewulf. Representatives of the Ministers of Agriculture presented the awards and prize money (EUR 1 500. 1 000 and 750 respectively) provided by the Flemish and Walloon governments during the official prizegiving ceremony on the closing day of the event. You can find out more about the winning projects in short business reports at www.innopotato.be.Interactive walk-in seminars on initiatives in Precision TechnologyIn addition to the wide range of exhibitors and networking possibilities, INTERPOM | PRIMEURS also presented ?walk-in seminars? on the exhibition floor for the first time. Visitors could attend interactive sessions moderated by Drs. Jacques van Outryve on the subject of initiatives around PRECISION TECHNOLOGY in Belgium and abroad. You can download the speakers? presentations from the INTERPOM | PRIMEURS website in the section entitled ?programme - walk-in seminars?.The next edition of INTERPOM | PRIMEURS will be on 25, 26 & 27 November 2018 in Kortrijk Xpo.INTERPOM PRIMEURS is an initiative of Belgapom, the official trade association of the Belgian potato traders and processors. The practical organization is in the hands of Kortrijk Xpo. Note for editors ? further details & contact: Annick Pycarelle ? tel. +32 (0)56.24.11.11 Email: annickpycarelle@kortrijkxpo.com