Internationalization was in the limelight at the 41st edition of EIMA International, the world agricultural machinery exhibition organized by the Italian manufacturers' federation FederUnacoma, which occured at the Bologna Exhibition Center November 14 to 16.
The event has seen its international importance grow still further, both in terms of the presence of foreign exhibitors, which have reached the record number of approximately 600 out of the 1,800 present in all at the event, representing 44 countries, and in terms of the attendance of visitors and official delegations. During the past edition (November 2012) there were over 32,000 foreign visitors out of a total of 196,000, from 120 countries, but things are looking set to improve on these figures during this year's edition. There will be over 60 official foreign delegations, made up of economic operators, agricultural and mechanical technicians, government and political figures, all interested in getting to know the best world manufacturers for each operation and for each type of agriculture. From Albania to Senegal, from Mozambique to Lebanon, from Egypt to Kosovo, all the way to India and China, during the five days of the event the delegations will be involved in a packed schedule of meetings with Italian firms to present their specific mechanization requirements.
As well as the working sessions on technical and economic co-operation, FederUnacoma has planned a detailed schedule of "business to business" events, organized alongside the ICE-Agency, with UNIDO and with the Mediterranean Institute of Agronomy (IAM) and involving the industries present and delegates, above all from Africa, BRIC Countries, Eastern Europe and the Middle and Far East. As part of the "B2B" initiatives there is to be a "themed three day event" dedicated to the business opportunities offered by certain target countries in Asia and Oceania, where the demand for agricultural technology is growing considerably. These started on Wednesday, November 12 with an in-depth seminar to learn about the Australian market, where agricultural machinery "made in Italy" is particularly well thought of, followed by a meeting where a delegation from New Zealand was also expected to attend. On Thursday, November 13 the spotlights were turned to the demand for agricultural technology in Iran, while on Friday, November 14 EIMA International gave an overview on mechanization in South East Asia, with a focus on ASEAN Countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand). Finally, the Focus on the subject "Egypt: opportunities and co-operation for sustainable development of agricultural mechanization," scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, November 14, was of particular interest.
