Macfrut: international and innovative fruit and vegetable technology

The Italian city of Rimini hosted the Macfrut fruit and vegetable trade fair for the 33rd time between 14 and 16 September 2016. On a floor space of 40,000m² more than 1,000 exhibitors showcased their products and services. About 1,000 international traders were also there to participate in 50 professional programmes. There were more than 38,000 Italian visitors and 9,200 people came from abroad.

The world’s fruit and vegetable consumption keeps growing every year. This means that demand is increasing for fruits and vegetables that appear in the market faster and stay fresh longer. Consequently, the fruit and vegetable sector’s technological development is becoming more and more important. For instance packaging technology is key as the sector’s output is more than 2.5 billion tons of fruit and vegetable a year. These products need to reach customers fresh day after day, which can only be guaranteed by high-quality packaging and transportation solutions.

Italy has one of Europe’s leading fruit and vegetable processing industries and packaging technology capacities. This year the Macfrut trade show focused on technology, with special attention to sustainability, functionality and freshness. According to the organisers, 35 new solutions made their debut at this year’s Macfrut and the best ones were rewarded with an Innovation Award. Post-harvest technologies were in the centre of attention. Peru was the partner country of Macfrut in 2016: this dynamically developing country is one of South America’s biggest fruit and vegetable growers.

Many delegations came to Macfrut from the Near East. Africa is also more and more interested in this trade show – companies from Sudan and Kenya were present. Such famous companies sent their representatives to Macfrut as Univeg, Roveg, Cool Fresh Group, Gava Group, Carrefour, Metro, Eurobanan, Staay Food Group, Camposol and Levahrt. The next Macfrut trade show will be held on 10-12 May 2017 and its main theme will be strawberry. /