Fruit Attraction 2026 closed its doors after exceeding attendance expectations, with more than 121,000 professionals from over 150 countries, consolidating its position as one of the leading international platforms for the fresh produce sector.
Organised by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX, the 2026 edition brought together around 2,500 exhibiting companies from 78 countries and occupied 162,000 square metres of exhibition space, according to the organisers.
One of the edition’s main milestones came on 7 October, the second day of the show, when Fruit Attraction recorded 55,200 concurrent visitors, the highest figure ever registered by a trade fair at IFEMA MADRID. The record attendance underlines the event’s strong international appeal and the growing interest in Spain’s fresh produce industry.
A major economic impact for Madrid
Fruit Attraction also generated a significant economic impact for the Madrid region. According to IFEMA MADRID, the 2026 edition generated €419 million in economic activity and contributed to the maintenance of 3,106 jobs in the region.
Beyond its commercial activity, the trade fair once again provided a platform for debate on some of the key issues facing the fresh produce industry, including the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its impact on producer organisations and their operational funds.
The future CAP and operational funds
During a round table held as part of the event, Elena Busutil, Director General for Agricultural Production and Markets at Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, explained that one of the Ministry’s priorities regarding the European Commission’s proposal is to maintain the funding of operational funds for fruit and vegetable producer organisations entirely through the EU budget.
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Busutil warned that introducing national co-financing could create a “distortion” in the competitive conditions between producers in different EU Member States. She also defended the current framework for fruit and vegetable operational programmes, describing them as a successful tool after four decades of implementation.
Regarding the sector’s request to increase support for operational funds to 4.1% of the value of marketed production, the Director General expressed a more cautious view given the expected budget reductions affecting some areas of the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which is currently under negotiation.
Potatoes take centre stage
The selection of potatoes as Fruit Attraction 2026’s Star Product also placed the crop at the heart of the trade fair’s programme.
1st International Potato Symposium, held on the day before the exhibition opened, brought together more than 250 representatives from production, marketing, processing, the supply industry, sector organisations and Spanish and European public institutions.
The event addressed the main challenges facing the potato value chain and highlighted the importance of closer cooperation between its different stakeholders. The symposium was organised by FEPEX, with the collaboration of Fruit Attraction and Europatat.
