THE ALIMENTARIA FAIR MAXIMIZES ITS FULL POTENTIAL FOR INTERNATIONALIZATION

When the International Food Exhibition was founded in March 1976, its founders already highlighted the need for a major fair to open the food sector to foreign trade. It was the era of the transition; Spain was still a decade away from joining what is now the European Union. Half a century later, the fair, rebranded as Alimentaria, brings together more foreign companies than ever before: 1,200 from 65 different countries out of a total of 3,300 firms. For its 50th-anniversary edition, which began yesterday, a total of 110,000 professional visitors are expected, with 25% being international.

“When the fair was born, we practically lived in autarky. Alimentaria opened a window of opportunity,” says Mauricio García de Quevedo, General Director of the Spanish Federation of Food and Drink Industries (Fiab). “Now we are an exporting power,” he adds. Spain is the fourth largest exporter in the European Union and the seventh worldwide.

“The need to export was recognized, and it was thought that a fair could be the best platform. Alimentaria was born with that spirit,” confirms María Naranjo, Director of the agri-food industry at Icex. However, the head of the public body that promotes the internationalization of Spanish companies recalls that this opening to the world was progressive. The first editions of Alimentaria were, in essence, gatherings of local firms. Nothing like today, when hams are combined with stands showcasing cuisine from half the planet.

Source: La Vanguardia
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