The 19th edition of Cibus will take place in Parma from 7 to 10 May 2018 and around 800 foreign food companies are expected to attend. According to the organizers, exports of Italian food & beverage in 2017 increased by about 7% over the previous year, with a forecast year-end turnover of about 32 billion Euros.
The most important destinations for Italian food products are Europe and, increasingly, the United States; however, the Asian market is also growing, primarily China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan (source: Federalimentare). This growth trend is reflected in the profile of the 19th edition of Cibus exhibition of new products that can conquer international markets and more top buyers from every continent.
Together with the ICE Agency, a plan has been put in place to attract more foreign buyers from Europe and overseas: it involves a road show that is travelling to leading food trade shows abroad and targeted meetings with distribution operators in the different key markets, that is, France, Germany, China, USA, Southeast Asian countries, and more.
An agreement has already been signed between Cibus and Macfrut (the fruit and vegetable trade show) to facilitate the exchange of buyers on concurrent exhibition days (9 and 10 May, 2018) and their joint presentation in November in China, coordinated by the Emilia Romagna Region. The Hosted Buyers Program, which helps buyers set up meetings at Cibus and organizes guided visits to Italian food&beverage companies, has been strengthened.
Cibus, which is now an annual event (on odd years with the Cibus Connect format in the same week as Vinitaly), will host more than 3,000 exhibiting Italian companies in its 19th edition, thus confirming its status as by far the most important international exhibition dedicated to Italian food.
“More and more, Cibus represents for Italian companies not merely a leading international event for the promotion of their products, but an instrument for increasing their exports, thanks to Cibus’ activities even outside of the exhibition venue – declared Giandomenico Auricchio, president of Fiere di Parma. “The importance of Cibus is confirmed by the ever growing number of foreign buyers, who consider it a unique platform for Authentic Italian Food, as at the Parma trade show they only come across Italian companies that exhibit products of the very highest quality.”
