Macfrut will be organizing the world’s first virtual trade fair for agribusiness players in the fruit and vegetable sector from September 8-10 in Italy.
With support from the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), the fair offers players, especially those from Ghana and other African countries, an important opportunity to gain access to the huge EU market.
To adequately prepare agribusiness players in Ghana for opportunities as those offered by Macfrut Digital, the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) recently organized E-Lab Innova, a training programme to sensitize and update agribusiness players in Ghana on trends in the EU market.
Outlining the benefits of this year’s fair, Dr. Enrico Turoni and Dr. Umberto Trulli, two instructors for E-Lab Innova, shared their views on how agribusiness players can leverage on the knowledge gained in the training programme to break into the EU market.
According Dr. Enrico Turoni “To enter into a competitive market, knowledge is a key factor and thanks to E-Lab Innova, Ghanaian entrepreneurs now have the opportunity to learn more about specific topics like business organization, market trends, quality requirements, logistics.”
He noted that for Ghanaian companies, attending Macrfrut means getting in touch with a market whose dimensions are almost unlimited, interacting with well profiled potential business partners, having a detailed vision of the international marketplace in which they can compete.
He also highlighted some four key benefits that agribusiness players in Ghana stand to gain from Macfrut Digital:
He said the fair will provide unlimited market access to attendees. “Macfrut in its digital version represents a very interesting opportunity for Ghanaian companies who attended E-Lab Innova for Africa training course” says Dr. Umberto Trulli, adding that the COVID crisis requires that companies completely redesign internationalization business processes from a digital perspective.
He again outlined that Europe offers a year-round market for fruits and vegetables because there is an increased popularity of healthy lifestyles and the interest in tropical fruits and vegetables is high.
“These are trends that offer opportunities for Ghanaian agribusiness players” he further adds.
On his part, Dr. Umberto Trulli outlined that the fair provides a chance to present products and services in a virtual stand. According to him, this is one positive take-out of the dreadful coronavirus because the world is now increasing leverage on digital tools for business and trading.
“Participants in this year’s Macfrut Virtual fair have the advantage of literally sitting in the comfort of their homes or offices and yet being able to present their products and services to thousands of people across the globe”, he added.
Again, Dr. Umberto Trulli noted that the virtual fair provides a chance to reach different targets and countries at the same time. “Ghana already exports to the European Union but Ghanaian agribusiness players can build competitive advantages with certain niche products and/or specific market windows”, said Dr. Trulli emphasizing that “Macfrut Digital is the right opportunity to meet Italian and European importers and get information”
With hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors expected to take part in Macfrut Digital, the fair offers a one-off window for Ghanaian fruit and vegetable farmers and exporters to showcase their produce to the important European market and to the world in general.
