The XX ° edition of Cibus will open in Parma on Tuesday 31 August to close on Friday 3 September, organized by Fiere di Parma and Federalimentare. Postponed from 2020, due to a pandemic, it will be the first major international fair to reopen, at the beginning of the second half of 2021 ( Cibus is normally held in May ). It will be used by the agri-food sector to propose new products on national and foreign markets, to take advantage of the economic recovery, also benefiting from the boost of the Recovery Plan. A sector that has supported the food consumption of Italians during the lockdown and is increasing, also in the first half of 2021, its production levels, such as those of exports, which grew by 11%. Almost 2,000 exhibiting companies are expected, which will offer thousands of brands and over 500 new products. Tens of thousands of foreign operators and top buyers from Italy, Europe and overseas countries are expected.
" For too long, the purchasing managers of national and international distribution have not met their suppliers, they did not go to the facilities and territories - explained Antonio Cellie, CEO of Fiere di Parma - In addition, even the fairs had to be up to their customers. which since February 2020 have never stopped continuing not only to produce, but also to innovate. This effort, which today we see crowned by a boom in exports, deserved a stage like Cibus, which for almost 40 years has been the reference platform for Italian agro-food. In Parma from August 31st, therefore, we will return to trade fairs in Italy, to demonstrate to the markets how we can continue to innovate, contribute to the environment, conquer new foreign markets and beat counterfeiting. At Cibus we will talk about omnichannel, or the integration between offline and online purchases, the relationship between territories and companies in Italy and abroad, the start-ups that are concretely developing the evolution of the food & beverage offer, what it is indeed the Italian agri-food chain, that is, a heritage of the tens of thousands of companies that have brought our brands and products all over the world since the post-war period, many of which are DOP and IGP ".
The fair will allow food companies to present new products and resume the dialogue with buyers, never interrupted but limited to the virtual. Therefore, a fair of great weight and relevance, as Ivano Vacondio, President of Federalimentare pointed out: " This edition of Cibus is symbolic for our food sector because, as the first major trade fair to return in attendance, it demonstrates that the food & beverage sector has all the credentials to pull the restart. And the achievement of the objective of 50 billion in agri-food exports by the end of the year is, in this sense, a strong signal. Cibus will therefore be a moment of discussion on the sector, with a look at the opportunities, but also at the threats that risk damaging our excellence and from which we absolutely must defend ourselves. Above all, however, Cibus represents a new start for all the food industry companies that have resisted during the pandemic phase and that can now return to offering Made in Italy products to the world, certain of finding more and more consumers on the other side. Countries ".
Cibus will be inaugurated by the opening conference, at 10.45 am, with the participation of representatives of the food industry, agriculture and modern distribution, and the political and institutional world, including: Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and of International Cooperation; Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Federico Pizzarotti, Mayor of Parma; Carlo Maria Ferro, President of ICE; Ivano Vacondio, Federalimentare President; Gino Gandolfi, President of Fiere di Parma; Alberto Frausin, President of Federdistribuzione; Lino Enrico Stoppani, President of Fipe; Marco Travaglia, Deputy Chairman of Centromarca, Francesco Advini, Conad General Manager; Marco Pedroni, President of Coop Italia; Giorgio Santambrogio, CEO of the Végé Group.
The Federalimentare Assembly will be held in the early afternoon of the first day, attended by the captains of the food industry and where Carlo Bonomi, President of Confindustria and other speakers such as Massimiliano Giansanti, President of Confagricoltura will take part; Ettore Prandini, President of Coldiretti; Dino Scanavino, President of Cia-Italian Farmers; Giorgio Mercuri President of the Alliance of Agri-food Cooperatives; Franco Verracina President Copagri; Fabio Pompei, CEO of Deloitte Central Mediterranean.
Among the various conferences, of particular importance is the one to be held on the morning of September 1, entitled "Made in Italy agri-food and Geographical Indications: strategies to push growth" (see the complete program of the conferences on https: / /www.cibus.it/convegni-ufficiali-2021/). On that occasion, the importance of Italian GIs will be outlined, which are increasingly in demand not only on the domestic market, but also on foreign markets. The conference will be coordinated by the MEP Paolo De Castro and will be attended by: Cesare Mazzetti and Mauro Rosati - President and Director of the Qualivita Foundation; Cesare Baldrighi - President of Origin Italia; Riccardo Deserti - Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium Director; Claude Vermont des Roches - President of Origin International; Pietro D'Angeli - CLAI General Manager; Antonio Auricchio - President of Afidop.
In the second part of the conference, after a report by Nomisma on what Distribution and Finance are doing for Geographical Indications, the following will intervene: Sen. Stefano Patuanelli - Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies; Francesco Pugliese - CEO Conad; Giampiero Maioli - Head of Crédit Agricole in Italy.
Thanks to the incoming activity, which this year also includes a tailor-made program for top Italian buyers, 3,000 selected operators are expected, 50% of which from abroad.
The commitment of the Italian Government and the ICE Agency was of fundamental importance both in 2020 and in this 2021 of the recovery. The synergy with ICE-Agenzia will contribute to the meeting at Cibus between international buyers and the exhibiting Italian food companies and will offer the opportunity to visit some of the most significant realities of the Italian agri-food context based in the Food Valley. ICE-Agenzia has also collaborated in the creation of the “FOOD INNOVATION START UP @ CIBUS 2021”, a space dedicated to innovative start-ups in the sector. There will also be an assistance desk inside the Cibus Buyer's lounge, where the staff of the Agri-food and Wine Office of ICE Agenzia and the trade analysts of the ICE Offices abroad will provide support to delegations, offering assistance to Italian companies.
Finally, for the first time Cibus goes live on social networks: on Cibus's You Tube and Linkedin channels it will be possible to follow the interviews with the buyers present at the fair every morning, carried out by GdoNews, and the point on the trend of the sector and the markets, made by the IRI Research Institute.
