Ligurian excellence will be in the foreground at the 22nd International Food Exhibition, Cibus, which will be held in Parma from 7 to 10 May 2024. This edition promises to be record-breaking for the event dedicated to agri-food, organized by Fiere di Parma and Federalimentare.
The event presents itself as a highly prestigious showcase, with over five hundred exhibiting companies, 3,000 brands, 1,300 top buyers, 500 new products and at least 80,000 visitors from over 90 countries. Participation expectations are so high that there is already a waiting list of 600 companies. Among the large national companies present at the fair, we find the Special Company of the “Riviere di Liguria” Chamber of Commerce of Imperia, La Spezia and Savona, with fourteen participating companies: Olio Boeri (Imperia); Lunezia Dolciaria (Spezia); Pandora (Imperia); Italpesto (Spezia); Tastee.it (Savona); Arisi Giacomo (Imperia); Only Taggiasca (Imperia); Vincenzo Salvo (Imperia); Pietrantica (Imperia); The 2 Apples (Imperia); Zenzapero-Az. Agr.Mulino Martino (Imperia); Long live the Olive (Imperia); Calvi oil (Imperia); Gallinara (Savona).
The organizers say: «Cibus has always been an opportunity to promote the meeting of the Italian agri-food industry with foreign trade missions from the major markets in the world and with large continental and international retailers».
«The Ligurian presence is fundamental – explains the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Enrico Lupi – at the most important international exhibition of Made in Italy. The number of companies representing our territory and our excellence is significant: agri-food confirms itself as the driving sector of the Italian economy, growing more and better than other sectors and it is precisely for this reason that the valorisation of products for Liguria becomes a vehicle promotion and economic relaunch. The new special exhibition areas “Cibus delle Idee” and “Cibus Healthy” and the selection of 100 innovative products to tell the evolution of tastes and trends in consumption and agri-food production Made in Italy are interesting: opportunities and opportunities for growth and development for businesses in our area.”
The organizers assure that «the media presence in Parma for the Cibus event is massive. Thousands of journalists from all corners of the globe flock to the city, representing a diverse range of newspapers, broadcasters and food magazines. The event offers ample space for innovation, with chefs ready to delight visitors with excellent tastings, and presents a rich program of insights, round tables, conferences, seminars and workshops focused on topics such as marketing, sustainability and scientific research in the field of nutrition”.
«The 2023 data – concludes the president of the Chamber of Commerce Enrico Lupi – underline a fundamental aspect: the confirmation that the food industry contributes significantly to the economic growth of the country, of which it represents a fundamental sector by virtue of its quality and safety of our products.”
From an exhibition point of view, Cibus is aimed at all the different production realities of the Italian agri-food industry: large players, small and medium-sized enterprises, producers of niche excellences find in Cibus an ideal space for visibility and comparison.
“Assaggia La Liguria” will also bring the Ligurian PDOs to CIBUS 2024, thanks to the Liguria Region, CCIAA Riviere di Liguria and Liguria International, in the “Liguria” space with tastings and workshops dedicated to basil, pesto and oil. The experience at the fair will be accompanied, as always, by a rich immersive program to discover the national territory and its companies, dedicated to those who want to know the production process of their food suppliers. The format of “Taste Liguria” combines the expertise of sector experts with the theatrical and entertainment expertise of the Teatro del Piccione company to tell the story of the agri-food excellence of Liguria “in every sense”. Local businesses had the opportunity to access to the free services offered by Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), the European Commission network that supports SMEs to grow, innovate and internationalize, including finding foreign partners for business cooperation and innovation and technology transfer as well as receiving information on opportunities offered by the European Union.
«Cibus, with its 120 thousand square meters of exhibition space, is a continuously growing fair in terms of international notoriety, attendance and appeal – says the vice president of the Liguria Region with responsibility for Agriculture Alessandro Piana – thanks to the perfect representation of tradition and innovation in niche products and regional excellence. Liguria has an important and driving food & beverage model, as demonstrated by exports, despite the limited quantities of production due to the small territorial extension compared to much larger realities. A limit largely overcome by the very high quality of the products and the company dynamism, as demonstrated by the representation at Cibus 2024 of the Ligurian PDOs and excellences, which allows us to conquer, with constantly positive rates, new spaces in foreign markets and relaunch consumption domestic. Furthermore – thanks to territorial, information and marketing policies as well as to the exhibition sector – Liguria stands out for the combination of quality agri-food products and awareness of nutrition. Food safety, the goodness of the products of the Mediterranean diet and their great variety allow us to support the well-being of Italians and demonstrate, should there still be a need, the social and traditional value of our agri-food”.
