Macfrut, an opportunity for foreign buyers

 “Macfrut Hosted Buyers Program” is an initiative organised by Cesena Fiera’s staff to attract an even greater number of top foreign buyers to the trade fair. Macfrut, scheduled to be held in Rimini from 9 to 11 May 2018, will offer visitors a unique business opportunity, since it will bring together players in the entire fruit and vegetable supply chain, from the pre-harvest sector to production and marketing, but also processing machinery, packaging and logistics.

The programme reserved for buyers will be open to category managers, buyers, import managers, top managers, retailers and wholesalers, and the large-scale retail trade, representing the following sectors: seeds, plant nurseries, machinery and technology for production, processing and selection, fruit and vegetable production, processing of fruit and vegetables, packaging, fresh-cut and ready-to-eat products, dried and dehydrated fruits, logistics and services for the fruit and vegetable sector.

Registration to the “Macfrut Hosted Buyers Program” involves several steps: from January to 31 March, visitors who are interested in planning their trade fair visit can register with Macfrut as a “HOSTED buyer”; the organisers will evaluate the profiles of registrants and contact them directly to confirm or deny their participation in the trade fair and to jointly arrange the logistics of travel and accommodation. From 3 to 29 April, the “B2B platform” will be activated and made available to the selected buyers. With this online system, participants can arrange meetings with exhibitors of interest in order to create their own personalised agenda. The organisers will then send the final agenda at the beginning of May, after which all registered participants will be able to print out their ticket, the programme and their agenda.  

‘We have entered into commercial relations with several Italian customers and are particularly interested in citrus fruits from Southern Italy,’ commented Alessia Pilade, Business Manager of BanaBay, a banana importer from Ecuador based in the UK, who joined the programme. ‘We would also like to meet all the producers from South America to specifically discuss products such as bananas, mangoes and avocados.’

In addition to the benefits associated with personalising their visit to Macfrut and the opportunity to be hosted, buyers participating in the programme will have access to the VIP Business Lounge, a reserved area set up in the halls of Rimini Fiera (D5 - 018) with free Wi-Fi, interpreting services, cloakroom and more.

Image Source: Macfrut