One hundred and thirty investors and 20 foreign journalists have been invited to discover the great taste of typical made in Italy dishes at the 16^th “Cibus” International Food Exhibition, held in Parma from the 7^th to the 10^th of May. This biennial event recorded over 60 thousand visitors in 2010, 8 thousand of which came from abroad, including 1,000 carefully selected buyers. A wide range of countries will be involved in 2012, including, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, the United States and Thailand, as well as the countries of the European Union.

The influx of foreign buyers and journalists, which largely falls under the Operating Agreement signed between the Italian Foreign Trade Commission and the Parma and Emilia Romagna Exhibition Centres, demonstrates the great interest in this event, which has now come to be a real “must” in the world of excellent Italian local food production.

A sector that does not seem to be affected by the crisis, while all the other manufacturing sectors are struggling to return to the good performance of 2008, the Italian food industry continues to grow in double figures: +10.3% in 2011 compared to +10.5% in 2010. Furthermore, the growth margin is still very high thanks to the great success that the Italian way of living and eating has found throughout the world thanks to our high quality local food products.

A wide range of products will be presented at “Cibus” 2012, ranging from organic, now present in various forms, to high quality fresh products. Ample space will also be given to fresh and frozen ready meals, which are an increasing favourite of those with little time to cook. These diverse flavours will be presented to specialised and selected buyers from the whole world, particularly from emerging areas such as India and China, as well as countries with advanced economies such as the United States and Japan. A lot of interest has especially come from large organised distribution, which sees Italy as one of the most advanced in the high quality food sector.

The Istat (National Institute for Statistics) data on the export of Italian food products show a slight decline in exports to European Union countries, compensated, however, by an increase to Africa, America, central Asia and Oceania. “Cibus” 2012 will feature 12 special sections, dedicated to cheese (“Alma Caseus”), protected produce (“Piazza dei prodotti DOP-IGP “), to the confectionery industry (“Dolce Italia”), commercial brands (“Studio Store Brand”), to the self-service product sales automation sector (“Venditalia Self-expo “), best practices in the export sector (“Cibus Export Desk”), to business strategies that develop Italian production standards of excellence overseas (“Cibus Global Award”), to frozen goods (“Frozen Food”), to organic goods (“Cibus Organic”), to craft beer (“MicroMalto”), to public premises (“Spazio Fipe”) and to the city of Parma (“Cibus in città”). Make a note in your diaries for May at the Parma Exhibition Centre, for an event where taste meets business.