Macfrut, much more than a trade fair

Macfrut, much more than a trade fair: a year-long journey through the global fruit and vegetable supply chain, which will meet at the Rimini Expo Centre from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 May 2025. For its 42nd edition, Macfrut is sending out a strong message: our health depends on what we eat, and fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet. In other words, ‘healthy food’, which is the title of a new event at Macfrut 2025: a large arena with scientific experts, chefs and famous Italian testimonials as spokespersons for these values, starting with Olympic champion Valentina Vezzali who was present at the event’s press conference today.

All this is scheduled to take place during the three days of the event, which is growing once again: an increase in exhibition space (+6%), more than 1,400 exhibitors, many international visitors (40%) and 1,500 top buyers from all over the world who will be able to connect with exhibitors via a dedicated networking platform, the real highlight of the event. Three international symposia (Biotechnology, Potato, Mediterranean Aromatic Plants), Egypt as Partner country, Lazio as Partner region, themed exhibitions on trends and developments in the sector coordinated by a team of experts, a fruit and horticultural innovation test field, and over 100 events scheduled to take place during the three-day trade fair.

An important news was announced: the 2026 edition will take place from 14 to 16 April. The date of the event has been changed in order to take advantage of the new facilities at the Rimini Expo Centre, which will allow the development of new and innovative formats.

Presentation of Macfrut 2025

The presentation of Macfrut 2025 took place this morning at the ICE-Italian Trade Agency in Rome. Participants included Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, Matteo Zoppas, President of ICE-Italian Trade Agency, Sergio Marchi, Director of ISMEA (Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market), Renzo Piraccini, President of Macfrut, Valentina Vezzali, Olympic Champion and Healthy Food Show testimonial, Silvia Sabbadini of the ISHS Biotechnology Symposium, Giancarlo Righini, Councillor for Agriculture of the Lazio Region, Marco Riccardo Rusconi, Director of AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), and Stefano Gagliardi, Director of Assoavi (Association of Italian egg producers).

Fruit and vegetables 2024: rising exports and consumption

Fruit and vegetables take centre stage at Macfrut: the sector is worth around 17 billion euros in Italy, accounting for 28% of the national agricultural production and, together with canned vegetables, for 18% of Italy’s agri-food exports.

Exports of Italian fruit and vegetables increased by 6.3% in 2024, reaching almost 6.5 billion euros. According to the ICE-Italian Trade Agency (ICE processing based on TDM and ISTAT data), Italy is the second largest exporting country in Europe, after Spain, which exports three times as much.

The five primary target markets for Italian fruit and vegetables are located in Europe: Germany is the largest market, accounting for almost a third of the GDP (1.9 billion), followed by France (0.63 billion), Austria (0.44 billion), Switzerland (0.37 billion) and Spain (0.29 billion). Looking at the markets with the best growth performance in the top three places, we find three Eastern European countries: Croatia (+17.2%), Romania (+15.1%) and Czech Republic (+12.9%).

According to ISMEA data, fruit and vegetable expenditure increased in 2024: +2.2% for vegetables (fresh and processed), +2.9% for fruit. This is evident in the case of vegetables, especially fresh products, where both the volume of purchases and the average price increased. The fruit sector saw a 2.9% increase in purchases, with volume growth impacting nearly all products except citrus fruits (-0.7%) with a decline in average prices (-1.9%), which resulted in a 2.5% reduction in expenditure.

Renzo Piraccini, President of Macfrut

Renzo Piraccini, President of Macfrut, stated: 

“Macfrut is increasingly confirming itself as a unique trade fair in the sector: a showcase for Italian fruit and vegetables on the global stage, a moment of gathering for the industry, and a key element for professional growth through knowledge and networking. I am pleased that more and more Italian companies agree on the need for a major international showcase to promote the excellence of our production in world markets. We are a driving force for the development of the fruit and vegetable supply chain that extends beyond the three days of the fair, offering year-round support to companies. All of this with an eye towards new opportunities in the sector, such as Healthy Food and the emerging trends in healthy eating.” 

Macfrut, increasingly international

With over 40% of exhibitors coming from abroad, Macfrut has firmly established itself as Italy’s most international agri-food trade fair, thanks to an extensive year-round programme of worldwide presentations and a busy incoming buyer programme organised in collaboration with the ICE-Italian Trade Agency.

Egypt will be the partner country, with a large area occupied by 40 companies. During the three days of the trade fair, Egypt will play a central role with events, show cooking sessions, meetings and international presentations, supported by a large institutional and business delegation. Many African countries will be represented, including Mali with about 60 companies, the Democratic Republic of the Congo with more than 30 companies and Ghana with 20 companies. New participants include Tanzania with its own stand, as well as Iraq, supported by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization). In general, there will be a large number of international participants from Central and South America: Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and a new participating country, Ecuador. Many European participants will also be present, including a large group of producers from Spain.

With the support of ICE-Italian Trade Agency, more than 1,500 top buyers from all over the world will attend the trade fair, including leading European and international fruit and vegetable importers, especially from Brazil, which is now one of the main target markets. Another added feature of the event is a networking platform that allows exhibitors to pre-arrange meetings with potential buyers.

A brand new event: The Healthy Food Show

Our health depends on what we eat: Macfrut will talk about this in a brand new format with a large, purpose-built arena. The focus is on showcasing innovative fruits and vegetables of high nutritional value through an engaging experiential journey that incorporates the authority of scientific discourse in a way that is accessible to the general public.

International Symposium on Biotechnological Tools in Horticulture

Macfrut, world capital of biotechnology applied to horticulture. This year, for the first time, the International Symposium on Biotechnological Tools in Horticulture will be held at Macfrut, sponsored by the International Society of Horticultural Science (ISHS, which promotes research in all areas of horticultural science) in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences of the Marche Polytechnic University, and coordinated by Silvia Sabbadini, Angela Ricci, Luca Capriotti and Bruno Mezzetti.

The event will bring together the world’s leading experts in the field and provide an opportunity for dialogue between plant biotechnology researchers and those involved in the production chain. The three-day trade fair will also feature presentations on the latest technical and scientific advances in innovative technologies used in the cultivation of plants: from in vitro propagation to the creation of new, resilient and high-quality varieties, as well as the application of various ‘omics’ for plant genotyping/phenotyping. Around 200 people from 37 countries around the world have already confirmed their attendance.

Themed exhibitions

At the heart of Macfrut is a series of themed exhibitions, coordinated by a team of experts, offering insight into the current and future landscape of fruit and vegetables. These include: the Plant Nursery Area, which showcases innovations in the plant nursery industry; the Biosolutions International Event (BIE), which focuses on natural products for plant protection, plant nutrition and biostimulation; and the Red Planet, which focuses on the tomato supply chain. The Spices & Herbs Global Expo, which this year hosts the MESMAP (International Mediterranean Symposium on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants), is dedicated to the market for medicinal and aromatic plants, herbs and their derivatives. There will also be an exhibition dedicated to Agrisolar Systems & Technologies, while the Acqua Campus will focus on water saving. The dynamic area will also return with the Macfrut Field Solutions test field.

New events will include The International Potato Symposium, dedicated to potatoes, the key product of Macfrut 2025; Romagna Business Matching, a networking and B2B initiative aimed at creating opportunities for companies to meet and network; and the Berry Area, dedicated to berries.