Dubai, United Arab Emirates-: Fruit Attraction 2022, the leading event for the global fruit and vegetable sector, has concluded following a successful event in Madrid, which welcomed international participants from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
As part of the Guest Importing Country Programme, among the Middle East buyers represented were Panada Retail Company and Waha Fruits Trading Company, both based in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking at the event, a representative of Panda Retail Company said: “Fruit Attraction has evolved tremendously in recent years, giving exporters in Spain and other regions the opportunities to work with companies around the world in more innovative ways. Fruit Attraction remains one of Europe’s most important fruit and vegetable events, where you can find suppliers from around the world all under one roof.”
The event, organised and hosted at the IFEMA MADRID exhibition centre in partnership with FEPEX, welcomed 89,535 professionals from 137 countries during the three-day event and 1,740 exhibitors from 57 countries.
Exhibitors were primarily made up of European countries representing Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium, as well as the Americas with exhibitors from countries such as Ecuador, the United States, Chile and Colombia, and from Africa.
Once again, Fresh Produce, the exhibition area for fruit and vegetable producers and traders, was the most populated area, accounting for 72%. However, this year’s edition also saw a 57% increase in the Fresh Food Logistics area and a near 100% increase in Smart Agro.
A focus of the event was innovation within the sector, with The Innovation Hub providing a platform for 46 products and services. Among those recognised were
Fruit and vegetable wholesaler Surinver in the Fresh Produce category; leading agriculture company Syngenta in the Fruit and Vegetable Industry category; and cherry tomato producer Granada La Palma in the Sustainability and Commitment Actions category.
María José Sánchez, Director of Fruit Attraction, said: “A full conference schedule made Fruit Attraction the knowledge centre for the sector and included three congresses and 84 presentations, which were all delivered by high-level speakers and informed decision makers.
“Some of the highlights included the 3rd Fresh Food Logistics Summit, the Biofruit Congress, Biotech Attraction 2022 and the 6th Grape Attraction Congress, and other sessions such as Public funding lines for expenditure and investment in research and innovation in the fruit and vegetable sector; and the New Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products: complex, unrealistic and with a direct impact on European agriculture.
“All of which contributed to the outstanding success of the event.”
The fair was the setting for the prize-giving ceremony for the Fruit Attraction Podcast Contest: #agroinspiration stories, which Huertas, the origin from Cricket, won this year. The competition was set up to support new communication formats within the agri-food sector.
Fruit Attraction once again promoted the donation of fruit and vegetables from exhibitors for the Madrid Food Bank, which managed to collect 39,000 kilos of fruit and vegetable products, distributed among 565 charities registered in the Community of Madrid, and serve 186,000 people every day.
Organised by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX, Fruit Attraction 2023 will be held from 3 to 5 October at the fairgrounds.
