The 21st edition of Cibus, organized by Fiere di Parma and Federalimentare, will be the first major international food fair to see the return of foreign buyers in Italy. From May 3 to 6, about 60 thousand visitors and about 3 thousand exhibitors are expected in Parma.
During the online press conference, the war in Ukraine and the delicate geopolitical situation, which are also affecting the food sector, were the main topics of discussion: increases in gas and raw materials and logistic problems are putting a strain on the Italian f&b. A sector that in 2021 also achieved significant results on exports: USA +14.3%, China +32.7%, South Korea +30.7%, Chile +50.5%, South Africa +21.2%, Poland +21.4%, Spain +19.6%, Germany +6.7%, France +7.1%, (Federalimentare based on Istat data, January/November 2021).
THE ALARM FOR INCREASES
Ivano Vacondio, President of Federalimentare, expressed his worries on the impact of International tensions on increase in prices of gas and raw materials: “Cibus therefore serves to reaffirm the centrality of our food companies that, despite the unfavorable conditions, continue to produce and look for new solutions” he said.
Carlo Ferro, President of Ice Agency, underlined: “Our exports restarted in 2021 and Italian agri-food recorded a growth of +14.7% compared to 2019. In this new scenario with post-Covid challenges and unexpected geopolitical complexities, making a system is even more important. Ice Agency supports the 21st edition of Cibus with the most important allocation of resources in the last six years. We expect to bring 380 specialized buyers and 10 journalists from 42 countries to Parma and facilitate the diffusion of the My Business Cibus platform“.
THE ROLE OF ITALIAN AGRI-FOOD
Cibus 2022 will be an opportunity to define the resilient role of agri-food, as Antonio Cellie, Ceo Fiere di Parma, said: “Made in Italy during Covid showed its resilience and therefore today it is a candidate to ‘creatively’ supply world distribution. We are opening Cibus 2022 on this topic: how agri-food can and will contribute to the stability of territories and to the inclusion of people“.
Manlio Di Stefano, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, read a message from Minister Di Maio, stressing that “the Ministry is committed to supporting Italian exports, thanks to the ‘Pact for Export’. Italy boasts a world record for organic productions, for IG products and a unique production variety. As for the Russian/Ukrainian crisis, we are supporting exporting companies, to possibly reschedule losses and explore compensatory responses“.