Despite the climate of great uncertainty and international tensions, the edition 2022 by Macfrut opened in the sign of optimism. “L’ottimismo che TinyMCE Advanced dai numeri – ha detto Renzo Piraccini, presidente di Macfrut – Siamo ottimisti prima di tutto per quanto riguarda i numbers of the event che, while remaining only eight months after the previous one, vede un return to normal, with a gross exhibition area of 40 thousand square meters e 830 exhibitors, il 28% of which foreign. Ma optimism also with regard to the fruit and vegetable sector che ha chiuso il 2021 con la cifra record di 5,5 billions of euros in exports (+ 6% on the 2020) e un trade surplus of over one billion euros“.
The optimism also concerns the commercial campaign that opens under the best auspices, after two years in which atmospheric and phytosanitary adversities have caused serious damage in many production areas. “In questi ultimi anni la Spagna ha superato l’Italia dal punto di vista produttivo e dell’export – ha ricordato Piraccini – ma se consideriamo l’intera filiera – dal comparto sementiero ai mezzi tecnici, from field technologies to packaging lines, from packaging to services - Italy is the absolute leader in Europe. And this is precisely the characteristic we wanted to give to Macfrut: una representative fair of all the links in the fruit and vegetable supply chain”.
Acquire business contacts and knowledge
Dal Cherry Symposium allo Spice & Herbs global expo, until the Tropical Fruit Congress, Macfrut is also confirmed as an important moment of study. “We are a different fair, because people come here to acquire business contacts but also knowledge. This is the real challenge ". President Piraccini then declared to myfruit.it: "" It seems to me that you breathe very crisp air ".
At the inauguration of Macfrut 2022 è intervenuto il ministro delle Politiche agricole alimentari e forestali Stefano Patuanelli che ha sottolineato come il ritorno di Macfrut in presenza rappresenti un a sign of recovery for the country e che grazie al sistema fieristico riprende la great desire to show the excellence of the Italian agri-food chain, "A driving sector for the economy of our country that has never stopped even during the darkest periods of the pandemic, keeping food safe on the shelves of our supermarkets ".
Defending the investment capacity and income of producers
Patuanelli then highlighted the many challenges that the agricultural sector is facing, since we are facing a crisis that introduces distorting elements of the markets, increase in raw material and energy costs, which jeopardizes the investment capacity of Italian agricultural entrepreneurs. "Today the ability to invest together with farmers' income is the first thing we must defend - reiterated Patuanelli - and the big question we have to answer is: how do we make food for 10 billions of people without impacting the environment and ensuring safe access to food for all populations of the world?”.
The minister then pointed out that today Europe must unite to tackle this crisis because this question is answered with innovation and therefore with the ability to invest: l’innovazione sarà il faro che ci guiderà verso un’agricoltura diversa che non è una agricoltura che va verso l’omologazione. Food safety: Patuanelli stressed that it is necessary to keep attention on this issue high, nelle aree più povere del Pianeta l’accesso al cibo può diventare un tema ancor più gravoso che in passato. “Non è accettabile che una crisi internazionale come questa – ha detto Patuanelli – che mette in difficoltà le nostre economie, you bring a part of the world in difficulty and you condemn it to absolute poverty. Europe cannot fail to ask itself this problem. FAO is doing it well, but we must all help the countries that today are experiencing these difficulties on the basis of human principles. Together we must make efforts and stay close to those who cannot eat ".
As for the future of agriculture, during his visit to MacFrut, Patuanelli ha ribadito l’importanza che riveste in questo momento la programming, rappresentata dal National Recovery and Resilience Plan: “The projects in the agricultural sector of the Plan touch on the central themes: income diversification, agroenergy, supply chain contracts, the irrigation theme, the logistics. We are accelerating on the implementation measures of the Plan, we are achieving all the goals we had set for ourselves. Certainly there are concerns but there is also the ability to look at the contingency and the future ".
