The three-day event of Macfrut met the expectations of almost all exhibitors. Beyond the numbers, what emerged was the qualified presence of Italian and, above all, foreign visitors. As one exhibitor said, "I am not interested in receiving 300 visits in three days, I only need 3, but they must fit the needs and lead to further growth."
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There were also those who were not completely satisfied and would have liked something more, which is helpful feedback for the organizers looking to improve in 2023.
Among the operators who expressed their satisfaction with the 2022 edition was Raffaele Pezzoli, managing director of RayTec, a company that designs and manufactures technologies for the fresh-cut sector. "We are very satisfied. It was one of the best editions we have ever attended. The presence of foreign operators and buyers was massive, and we had excellent contacts that, we hope, will lead to concrete results. I can say without a doubt that this year, at least for us, it has been more than just an Italian fair because of the many meetings we had with foreign companies."
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The CSO attended the event with a collective stand. "I can confirm - underlines the president of CSO Italy, Paolo Bruni - that this was the restart edition for Macfrut." One of the exhibitors at the collective stand, Matteo Mazzoni, sales manager of the Mazzoni Group, added that "there was a good number of qualified attendees. The overall feeling, also by talking with other trade operators, was that of a fresh start for the sector."
Alessandro Fortini, sales manager for Fortini Ortofrutticoli, echoed him. "There were few on-lookers and many technically interested people. We made interesting encounters, even more than in other years." Massimo Ceradini, owner of Ceradini Group, shared the same opinion on the number of visitors. "I'm very happy with the influx of visitors that we noticed right from the first day. This was a positive and unexpected result, considering the fact that we could not have imagined it."
Fruitimprese President Marco Salvi said he was also pleased with the Italian participation in terms of attendance, which was further highlighted by the presence of the Minister of Agriculture Stefano Patuanelli and the Emilia-Romagna Regional Councillor for Agricultural Policies, Alessio Mammi.
"It represents a clear and solid commitment of the government to the sector as well as institutional support for the supply chain. This time we were probably unable to bring the most important international operators to Italy due to the complicated international situation." This consideration by Salvi proves that Fruitimprese will do its best to increase the level of Macfrut in 2023. After all, a fair only grows if all the protagonists are actors and not spectators.
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The collective stand of CSO Italy hosted an information desk about the European project 'Made in Nature,' which is financed in partnership with the European Union and aims to promote the organic culture in Italy, France, Germany, and Denmark. The space dedicated to the project, now in its second edition, was set up with real fruit trees to launch the initiative 'Zero Emission Orchard', a demo designed to emphasize the message of the European strategy Farm to Fork, to show what happens in the field.