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180 exhibitors from 12 countries, 250 international trade visitors from 35 countries and 2000 scheduled business meetings
FRESKON, the only Fresh Fruit and Vegetable International Trade Event in Greece, is returning after a two-year absence, with 180 exhibitors from 12 countries and 250 international trade visitors from 35 countries (hosted buyers, group visits, entrepreneurial delegations, and individuals).
From 12 to 14 May in pavilions 13, 14, and 15 of the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, fresh fruits and vegetables will be in the spotlight, recording market developments, bringing exhibitors in contact with representatives of major international supermarket chains, commercial enterprises, and logistics enterprises-networks, while the latest in fresh fruits, vegetables, logistics, machinery, and packaging materials will be presented. Exhibitors will come from Greece, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Bulgaria, Albania, Poland, Cyprus, Egypt, Spain, and Denmark.
In the framework of the 6th FRESKON, which will gather producers, international retail groups, and domestic and international fresh fruit and vegetable transporters, more than 2000 business meetings have been scheduled between Greek enterprise representatives and producers, and international trade visitors.
FRESKON will also receive an entrepreneurial delegation from Iraqi Kurdistan, which will be composed by entrepreneurs in the agri-food and construction material sectors, as well as members from the Chamber of Commerce of the region of Sulaymaniyah. Furthermore, great emphasis has been placed on attracting Hosted Buyers from Arab states.
On an institutional level, participants in FRESKON include the Ministry of Rural Development & Food, the Regions of Central Macedonia, Western Greece, and Crete, the Central Market of Athens, and the Central Thessaloniki Market.
FRESKON’s opening will be held tomorrow, 12 May, at 19:00, at pavilion 13, by the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr Giorgos Georgantas.
The International Apple Congress and side events
The International Apple Congress, on 12 May, stands out at this year’s exhibition, with the participation of established speakers from Greece and abroad. Furthermore, FreshCon Market will focus on the connection of production with retail sales, mainly aiming at bringing large supermarket chains into direct contact with professionals of the agricultural sector, creating ideal conditions for direct agreements. Buyers from 17 supermarkets in Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, N. Macedonia, Poland, and Ukraine will be participating in FreshCon Market.
During FRESKON a number of other side events will be held, presenting and analysing specialised issues regarding the primary sector, the connection of agricultural production with commerce, standardisation-packaging, openness, etc.
The Press conference
The emphasis TIF-Helexpo places on the primary sector was underlined by the company’s CEO, Mr Kyriakos Pozrikidis, during the Press Conference held today in view of FRESKON, as he drew on the current event to mention all relevant trade fairs, such as AGROTICA, AGROTHESSALY, DETROP, ARTOZYMA, and ZOOTECHNIA. He also stressed that — besides the exhibition aspect — through FRESKON the Fair aims to highlight innovation, distribution networks, and their role in the transportation of fresh fruit and vegetables.
The publisher-director of FROUTONEA magazine — International Apple Congress and FreshCon Market partner — Mr Panagiotis Orfanos noted that FRESKON has left its mark during the events held in previous years, and that it is trying to promote the qualitative characteristics of Greek fruits and vegetables. In fact, Mr Orfanos raised two critical issues the sector is facing, which this year’s event will deal with as part of its side events: the increased cost of cultivation, which, as he said, must be dealt with or it will lead to a shrinking of production in coming years, and the lack of land workers, which is threatening harvest. In fact, he noted that many summer fruits will remain unharvested and something has to be done immediately, so that the summer season is not lost.
The event’s project manager, Ms Tonia Nikolaidou, referred to the great effort made to maintain this year’s FRESKON at the levels of 2019. She also stressed that FRESKON’s aims are exports and their growth prospects, while the event helps Greek enterprises find new markets. She also referred to the International Apple Congress, noting that the number and mix of participants indicates the great interest surrounding it.
Lastly, the General Director of TIF-Helexpo, Mr Alexis Tsaxirlis, stressed that FRESKON is the only exhibition in Greece on fresh fruits and vegetables, and it is a model of event organising — beyond the exhibition part — as it is based on three pillars: B2B meetings, the congress, and the FreshCon Market. He also referred to all the other exhibition activities that are hosted during this period at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, stressing that “we are getting back on track”.