MEDOLIVA, international fair of Mediterranean Olive
products was organized by Arezzo Province, Tuscany
Region, Chamber of Commerce of Arezzo, Arezzo
Innovazione, Etruria Innovazione, Toscana Promozione,
and ARSIA, under the patronage of the Italian
Ministry of Agriculture.
The Fair included all aspects of olive oil
production and by-products, including technology and
cosmetics. The presence of a Mediterranean Oils Club
grouping 150 types of top-quality olive oil from the
Mediterranean basin selected by an international
panel following the IOOC methodology (International
Olive Oil Council) was extremely useful to get an
idea of the new tendencies of the international
panorama. Special sections were also dedicated to
research and innovations on olive oil production,
from genetic plant diversity to brand-new
technologies. Scientific seminars and conferences
took place over the whole duration of the fair to
debate market trends and important topics such as
regional marketing, European and international
legislation, quality certifications, and all stages
and techniques of olive oil production.
Medoliva
allowed ITPO Italy to expose the olive oil industry
of Arab-Mediterranean countries to the world.
Indeed, the Office, in collaboration with Arezzo
Province and with support from the UNIDO IPU
network, organized an entrepreneurial delegation of
olive oil producers from Egypt (2 companies), Jordan
(4 companies), Morocco (3 companies), and Tunisia (4
companies) and disseminated their cooperation
profiles among 350 Italian entrepreneurs operating
in the sector.
As a consequence of the promotional campaign it
carried out, ITPO Italy arranged ad-hoc
business-to-business meetings with Italian companies
interested in developing relations with the
Arab-Mediterranean delegations (at its 100 m2
stand). Furthermore, extra B2B sessions were
organized on 19 and 20 May 2008, to better support
foreign companies in their search for technologies,
buyers, and potential investors. As a result of this
action, over 100 B2B meetings took place during the
first day of the event alone.
From a technical assistance standpoint, the
delegations benefited also from meetings arranged by
UNIDO with eminent olive oil experts and testers
who, with their tips and suggestions, gave Arab
entrepreneurs precious advice on how to improve the
quality and the value of their products in terms of
cultivation, harvesting, processing, and packaging.
Further, the delegations took part in many
conferences and seminars focused on quality,
varieties, certifications, and technologies giving
the participants, extremely satisfied by the
meetings and the general organization of the fair, a
good insight into the state of art and trends in the
entire industry.
To conclude, ITPO scheduled B2B
meetings in collaboration with IPU network, resulted
in several concluded projects for an indicative
amount estimated at more than € 600.000.
