Fruit Attraction 2021, which, organised by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX, will be held from 5 to 7 October, presents a full programme of technical conferences that will make the Fair the main main knowledge hub for the fruit and vegetable sector, with sessions with a wide variety of content, and prestigious participants and speakers.
The Fruit Forum spaces, located in halls 3, 4 and 6 will provide the framework for congresses, presentations, round tables and conferences of enormous interest to the sector. Prominent among some of the major congresses that will be held are those such as Biofruit Congress, that will focus its fourth edition on the demand for more sustainable produce. The main European purchasing centres and international institutions including the European Commission will share their analyses and strategies to respond to growing global demand for fresh organic and sustainable lines.
Within Fresh Food Logistics and organised by IFEMA MADRID and Alimarket, the Fresh Food Logistic The Summit will take place, which will address a transversal and 360 degree vision of the cold market. Similarly, the fair will host the session The strategic value of the agri-food sector: before and after the pandemic, organised by the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (ALAS) and the Business Association for Plant Protection (AEPLA). It will also host Biotech Attraction, a new stimulus for agrobio innovation: the future of vegetable production, organised by Biovegen, which will analyse disruptive projects and companies in agrobio innovation, and R&D financing opportunities. And, finally, AGRO 4.0 Opportunities: Next Generation EU for a smart sector, organised by Organiza BIA3-Grant Thorton.
Added to these, are other conferences such as What a sustainable products sector could be like – Challenges and solutions for 2030, organised by Shaffe-Southern Hemisphere Assoc. Fresh Fruit, and prominent within agrarian policy is, Fruitnext – the new Pac and the leftovers of the fruit and vegetable sector.
Sustainability is a constant factor in the technological innovation of the different packaging solutions currently on the market, which is also conditioned by the European Union’s regulatory roadmap. For this reason, the following round tables will analyse various innovative packaging proposals aimed at fruits, greens and vegetables. Innovating towards greater sustainability in the packaging of fruits, greens and vegetables, organised by PACKNET – a Spanish Technological Platform for Packaging and Packing; and The challenge of sustainability in the fruit and vegetable sector: how to integrate economic, social and environmental returns, organised by the Complutense University of Madrid.
Fruit Attraction once again makes the Foro Innova available to exhibitors, with its training areas within halls 3, 5 and 8 of the Show which will host talks, presentations and technical seminars related to exhibitors’ latest innovations in products and solutions for the fruit and vegetable sector. Foro Innova is an initiative promoted by the event to give greater visibility and recognition to participating companies’ R+D+i efforts.
On the other hand, the magazine Mercados will announce its 11th Conecta a la Distribución Awards, to once again recognise the work and effort made by supermarket chains and their suppliers to promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables by offering products of the highest quality, which are locally produced, safe and sustainable.
Likewise, the fair will once again host the finalist s as they make the case for their projects and the presentation of the Innovation Hub Awards, held by Fruit Attraction to recognise and highlight the effort invested in R&D+i by the whole sector, and by each company in particular.
Similarly, the winner of the first Fruit Attraction Podcast Competition: tales of #agroinspiration, in support of new communication formats within the agri-food sector, will be presented with their award. The aim of this event is to ensure that the tireless work of the fruit and vegetable sector is made visible by familiarising listeners with it and highlighting the sector’s commitment to rural development.
As is now customary, the Fair will be the setting for the presentation ceremony of the 11th APAE Journalism Awards.
At the beginning of September, the World Fresh Forum was held, in which presentations were made on the business opportunities and commercial challenges existing in the countries invited to this edition of Fruit Attraction: Brazil, Ukraine, South Korea and Belarus. Organised by the Secretary of State for Trade, ICEX Spain Export and Investments, IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX, the sessions can be viewed through the LIVEConnect platform.
