The Ambassador Giuseppe Buccino inaugurated this morning, together with the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, the Italian pavilion as Invited Country of the 38⁰ edition of the Salón Gourmets in Madrid, the main fair in Spain dedicated to quality gastronomy, running from today to 10 April at the Ifema exhibition complex.
The Italian Area, organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Spain based in Madrid and consisting of an exhibition area of more than 350 square metres, is hosting 20 companies this year, with different types of products: from dry and fresh pasta, wines, truffle products and coffee to liqueurs, cheeses, cured meats, preserves and baked goods and confectionery.
During the symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony, Amb. Buccino recalled 'the extraordinary numbers that Made in Italy products have recorded in 2024 towards the Spanish market, which remains the one that - even in the agri-food sector - marks the highest growth rates among Italy's main customers'.
For his part, Minister Planas stressed "the importance of strengthening trade relations and synergies in the agri-food sector between the two countries," pointing out how the Trade Response and Relaunch Plan recently launched by the Sanchez anti-dazi government "will be able to guarantee the necessary liquidity for companies in the sector.
Another twenty or so Italian companies are also present at Salón Gourmets, both with food products and machinery dedicated to the sector.
The main fair in Spain dedicated to quality gastronomy (more than 100,000 visitors are expected at this edition on an exhibition area of more than 72,000 square metres and an estimated turnover of more than 250 million euros), the Salón Gourmets, established in 1987, historically sees Italian gastronomy as one of the protagonists of the event, a circumstance confirmed this year by the decision to dedicate a special focus to Italy, as an invited country.
The interest of Italian operators in the Spanish market is, moreover, marked, as demonstrated by the constant growth of Italy's agri-food exports to Spain, which in 2024 exceeded 2.9 billion euros, with an annual growth of 8% and an increase of over 77% in five years.
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