Significant business delegation from the central market of Madrid at this year’s event
16 retail chains at the FreshCon Market
This year’s Freskon, the 10th International Trade Event for Fruits and Vegetables, organized by TIF-HELEXPO from April 23 to 25 at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition & Congress Center, is attracting strong international interest. Covering an exhibition area of 12,500 m2, the event hosts 230 exhibitors with direct participation from 10 countries. As part of its investment in the hosted buyers programme, Freskon has attracted professionals from 30 countries, of which 122 are major importing companies, expected to carry out approximately 2,600 scheduled B2B meetings with exhibitors.
Particular emphasis is also placed on the exhibition’s strong Balkan focus, as it will welcome organized delegations of 50 trade visitors from Bulgaria and 100 from North Macedonia. At the same time, it has secured the participation of a significant business delegation of Spanish companies from the central market of Madrid. In addition to their targeted meetings at the exhibition, the Spanish representatives will also visit the Central Market of Thessaloniki, further expanding the footprint of their networking in the city.
At the same time, this year’s programme of parallel events has been designed to cover every aspect of the production and supply chain. At the heart of commercial interest is the “FreshCon Market” section, an initiative carried out in collaboration with the magazine FROUTONEA, bringing producers together with representatives of organized retail. With the participation of 16 retail chains from Greece and abroad mainly from the Balkans producers gain direct access to the shelves of major food distribution networks.
As regards the promotion of dynamic crops, the 2nd International Cherry Conference stands out as a key event, focusing on the latest developments in cultivation and the promising commercial prospects of a product with high export value. The agenda is complemented by two specialized workshops: the first focuses on berries, examining
new production trends and their increasing demand, while the second is dedicated to industrial clingstone peach, analyzing the challenges of industrial processing and the domestic market.
Finally, the event will host talks on the digital future of fresh produce. These will analyze critical issues of traceability and the integration of new digital tools in the field. In addition, a special discussion will be held on the fresh produce supply chain, offering answers and solutions to the demanding conditions of transport and storage imposed by international trade.
Today’s press conference
The International Trade Event for Fruits and Vegetables, Freskon, is set to act as a trade accelerator, given that in an ever-changing global environment competitiveness is not ensured solely through the excellent quality of the primary product, but requires strong networks, strategic positioning and direct access to decision-making centers of international markets, as highlighted by the Chairman of the Board of TIF-HELEXPO, Mr. Christos Tsentemeidis, during today’s press conference ahead of the opening of the event.
For his part, the company’s General Manager, Mr. Alexis Tsaxirlis, described Freskon as an established institution, stressing that, in combination with Agrotica, Zootechnia and AgroThessaly, it creates a significant exhibition portfolio for the agricultural sector. He also noted that the event has the characteristics of a multi-event and is the only one of its kind in Greece and the wider region, while ranking among the top five in Europe.
The creation of a Panhellenic Association of Fruit and Vegetable Packing Houses during Freskon was announced by the publisher of FROUTONEA magazine, Mr. Panagiotis Orfanos, noting that this is one of the reasons why this year’s exhibition is particularly important. Mr. Orfanos also referred to the distinguished speakers of the cherry conference and the berries workshop, underlining the opportunity for specialized knowledge available to visitors.
Finally, Freskon Project Manager, Mrs. Tonia Nikolaidou, noted that the event invests in extroversion throughout the year through the Freskon Greece project, while also referring to its recent participation in the Fruit Attraction São Paulo exhibition in Brazil.
The opening of Freskon will take place on Thursday, April 23 at 17:30 in Pavilion 13 by the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. Ioannis Andrianos. The exhibition opening hours are as follows: Thursday and Friday 10:00–19:00 and Saturday 10:00–17:00.
