Interpoma: Countdown to the tenth edition

This will be an Interpoma tenth anniversary very much focused on the event’s growing internationalisation. For twenty years now, the international trade show on the production, storage and marketing of apples has taken place every two years at the Fiera Bolzano: this year the event will run from 24 to 26 November.

Spread across 25,000 entirely occupied sq.metres, 460 exhibitors will display their wares, coming from 24 different nations (including America, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, Israel, Italy, Holland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Ireland, Korea, Slovenia, Portugal and Serbia). 20,000 visitors from over 70 countries are expected. An intense international promotion operation has been carried out, thanks also to the partnership with ICE, and this will bring over a hundred major buyers to Bolzano, with delegations of sector operators from outside Europe… especially from South America, Australia, China, India, Turkey, the Middle East, South Africa and Russia. Numerous confirmations have also come in from journalists from the main international sector publications… and this year a special exclusive area will be reserved for welcoming and helping these guests for the duration of the event.

Numerous adhesions have also been requested for guided sector operators visits for to apple-growing cooperatives and modern apple production enterprises in South Tyrol. There are also numerous bookings to attend the eagerly-awaited traditional International Congress, “The Apple in the World”, which over the three days will feature roughly twenty renowned international speakers illustrating different aspects of today’s apple market, with updates on consumer habits, science and research.

As well as the International Congress, the conference-type offer will also spread over to various events organised by exhibiting companies and Interpoma partners. Thursday 24 November will begin with “Varietal tests on apples and pears: methods, results and critical aspects. The Italian Varietal Lists project.” This is organised by the Laimburg Experimental Centre, while the conference “Sustainable Fruit-growing, today and tomorrow. Tools, techniques and communication” is part of the Agroinnovation Tour promoted by Image Line. Friday the 25th will see the staging of the “Innovation in fertilisation” event, plus the conference on “How to protect yourself from non-payment” organised by Assoconsult, and “Present and Future defence solutions against Apple Aphids”, presented by Bayer. In the afternoon of the same day, Vivai Mazzoni, the nursery company, will present “BIBAUM, an innovative nursery system that looks towards the future”: a symposium which will compare the innovative Bibaum twin leader system with the current standard, the spindle. Productive and qualitative statistics will be presented on the prospective future of Bibaum in terms of sustainability.

Then there is the now traditional encounter organised by ACI (Alliance of Italian Cooperatives) and Assomela (Apple Association) featuring high level discussions with the most important cooperative groups in Europe. This year the title of the encounter – featuring delegates from Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Belgium and Poland – is "New market access and promotion in Third countries: main priorities for European F&V Cooperatives and Producer Organizations in the Russian embargo context". The need to open new markets, and to do so as rapidly as possible – especially after the closure of the Russian market – is a priority for the European Fruit & Vegetable sector, and obviously this also applies to the Italian apple sector. Also present at the invitation-only event will be major representatives from the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, from the Italian Parliament and from the European Commission.