Italian Secretary of State for Agriculture Luigi D’Eramo travelled to Madrid from 5 to 7 October, representing Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, to attend the 18th edition of Fruit Attraction, Spain’s leading international trade fair for the fresh produce sector.
The 2026 edition reached record figures, bringing together 2,500 exhibiting companies from 78 countries and 121,000 professionals from more than 150 countries, across 162,000 square metres of exhibition space.
Italy once again ranked as the second-largest participating country after Spain, with 322 exhibiting companies, compared with 318 in 2025. Of these, 108 companies and associations took part in the collective pavilion organised by the Italian Trade Agency (ICE).
Strong Italian presence at Fruit Attraction
On 6 October, accompanied by the Italian Ambassador to Spain, Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi, Secretary of State D’Eramo attended the opening of Fruit Attraction alongside Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas.
He subsequently visited a large number of stands representing Italian companies, consortia and regions, before officially opening the Italian Pavilion organised by the Italian Trade Agency. The pavilion increased the number of participating companies this year, further consolidating ICE’s role in supporting Italian exports.
The day concluded with the event “Italian agri-food sector: companies, markets and strategies. Between the energy crisis and new trade challenges”, hosted by the Consulate General of Italy in Madrid.
The meeting brought together representatives of the main Italian sector organisations based in the Spanish capital, including Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, Confcooperative Agroalimentare e Pesca, Edamus, Fruitimprese and Italia Ortofrutta-Unione Nazionale, to discuss the sector’s main challenges and opportunities and reiterate the Italian institutions’ support for the horticultural sector and its exports.
Italy and Spain share common priorities
In his welcome address, Ambassador Buccino Grimaldi highlighted the strength of the Italian presence at Fruit Attraction, which has become an international meeting point for the fresh produce sector.
He stressed that the significant Italian participation reflects the sector’s international outlook and companies’ determination to engage with markets, establish new business relationships, consolidate existing commercial opportunities and identify new avenues for growth in Spain.
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The ambassador also pointed to a number of priorities shared by Italy and Spain, including the need for a strong and adequately funded Common Agricultural Policy, greater attention to the competitiveness and profitability of agricultural businesses and a simpler European regulatory framework capable of supporting investment and innovation.
Food security and trade reciprocity
Secretary of State D’Eramo expressed his satisfaction with the scale and importance of Fruit Attraction and highlighted the strategic role of food security, as well as the need to safeguard the position of agriculture in future European policies.
Against a backdrop of uncertainty linked to international geopolitical instability and climate change, D’Eramo stressed the Italian Government’s support for producers. According to the Secretary of State, this commitment has translated into €17 billion in funding made available over the past four years, alongside a significant increase in investment in technological innovation.
However, he identified reciprocity in trade relations between the EU and non-EU countries as one of the main political challenges facing the sector.
“When products are imported from non-EU countries, we must ensure that they are produced, grown and processed according to the same guarantee standards established by the European system,” D’Eramo concluded.
