Best results ever at Alimentaria 2008

Exhibition receives 158,000 professional visitors, 4% more than the show’s previous edition. One out of every five visitors came from another country.

Alimentaria 2008 closed its doors last
14 March with the best results ever for square metres occupied
(131,000), professional visitors – some 158,000, pending final
figures – and participating companies (5,000). These numbers made
the Spanish benchmark event for the agri-food sector number two
worldwide, as well as acting to stimulate continued growth at the
next edition 2010. The show generates some 169 million in indirect
revenue for Barcelona and the surrounding area.

Pending a final visitor count for 14
March, some 158,000 professionals – 4% more than in 2006, when
attendees numbered 152,000 – visited Alimentaria during a week of
intense trade show activity in Barcelona. Especially significant was
the presence of professionals from abroad, some 33,000 from 155
countries, 21% of total visitors.

Close to 5,000 leading food and
beverage manufacturing and distribution companies from 70 countries
presented their wares in Barcelona, turning the city into the world
food and beverage capital for the week.

Alimentaria 2008 consolidated its
position as an international business centre with the presence of
1,500 international companies, 30% of the 5,000 exhibitors at the
event. This represented a 6% increase over the show’s previous
edition.

The EU contributed the majority of
international exhibitors. Italy, with 296 firms; Germany, with 50;
Belgium, with 59; France, with 131; the Netherlands, with 31;
Portugal, with 40; Greece, with 72; and the United Kingdom, with more
than 35, were the companies with the largest number of
representatives. In terms of participants from outside the European
Community, China sent 40 companies; Egypt, close to 20; Argentina,
20; the United States, 20; and Turkey, 15.

There was significant participation
from Latin America and a marked increase in the presence of new EU
member countries, as well as those from the Asian continent.
Bulgaria, Hungary, Panama, Cyprus and Egypt made their first
appearance.