The 53rd edition of Cibus Tec is underway in Parma, the capital of the technological sector for food & beverage.

Mechanics for the F&B industry is one of the sectors of excellence in Italian manufacturing; with over 2,100 active companies and 61,000 employees, the sector generated a turnover of 15.7 billion euros in 2022. Compared to 2019, turnover grew by +7.6%, while the workforce recorded an increase of +11.7%. This industry also represents one of the Made in Italy sectors most suited to international markets, with exports of 8 billion euros in 2022 (+24.2% compared to 2012). In the first six months of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, the export trend is growing (+16.4%), and at the end of 2023 it is estimated to close with a value of approximately 8.8 billion (+10% compared to 2022).

In this scenario, Cibus Tec opens its doors on 24 October in Parma. The Koeln Parma Exhibitions trade fair event dedicated to technologies for the food and beverage sector, to show the over 40,000 visitors expected from Italy and 120 countries in the world, the most advanced technological solutions for the food industry thanks to the presence of the best in the sector, i.e. over 1200 exhibitors including the best Italian companies and more than 400 foreign brands from 30 countries around the world.

The 2023 edition of Cibus Tec, which continues until October 27, was opened by Franco Mosconi, president of Fiere Parma, who at the opening ceremony of the event, after thanking everyone, stated, "Fiere di Parma it is a special place, in which the authentic beauties of this country are periodically on display: art, antiques, tourism, good food. With Cibus Tec, however, it takes the visitor inside an ideal factory of the future in which one can experience first-hand all the processes - of very high technical depth - that bring the foods and drinks we consume daily to our tables. All this gives enormous prominence to the food tech supply chains and manufacturing excellence of our territory and of Italy as a whole, attracting highly qualified exhibitors and visitors from all over the world, certain of finding here in one place, the best and most advanced solutions technologies and innovations for the food industry."

There was no shortage of greetings from the Minister of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, who thanked the President of Fiere Parma Franco Mosconi and greeted the authorities and participants. The Minister then stated, "Cibus Tec is an important event for our agro-industrial sector, a sector that concentrates on Italian excellence, a perfect combination of mechanics and agro-industry, pillars of our Made in Italy. Your trade fair is not just a fair but an extraordinary showcase where the innovation of the food machinery sector is exhibited nationally and internationally. The sector is at the forefront and always manages to offer the best solutions for the food and beverage industry. It is a source of pride to know that our country is the second-world exporter of machinery and technologies for the food and beverage industry, with a substantial market share of total global exports. This undoubted success is the result of the commitment and constant search for innovative, safe and sustainable solutions that characterize your activities. The Government ensures unconditional support for the sector, recognizing the importance of your industry in raising the value of our agri-food excellence. Together with Minister Lollobrigida we have in fact inaugurated a continuous permanent dialogue aimed at identifying shared solutions and support strategies in this historical moment of ecological and digital transition. I would also like to point out the reopening of the Development Contracts Desk for the Transformation and Marketing of Agricultural Products, an important and significant opportunity for companies in the sector at a time when we are all called to respond to the challenges imposed by the double transition. In conclusion, I would like to express my particular gratitude for the organizers of this fair in Parma, the city that also represents the capital of the largest Food Valley, which manages to concentrate 60% of Italian food production in a radius of 200 km. Cibus Tec also becomes a unique opportunity to talk about the passion for quality food and the invaluable know-how that is always found in our tradition at the table and which today is also proposed in your products. Our skills are the essence of the goods offered by companies; to defend and enhance them we must ensure young people receive adequate training from school to higher education. With this spirit we have introduced the Made in Italy high school and strengthened the ITS, such as the one in your city, IST Tech & Food, which again offers 6 post-diploma courses for young people this year. We wish to build an integrated vision of Made in Italy, which along the supply chain passes from one product to another, from one generation to another, characterizing the enchanting territories of our beautiful Italy, which always fascinates the world.“

Thanking Minister Urso and President Mosconi, Thomas Rosolia, president of Koeln Parma Exhibitions, then spoke, highlighting how much the international reputation of the event has grown in recent years, stating that: "From the beginning of our collaboration, we have set ourselves a specific objective: to give even greater visibility to the Cibus Tec brand. By taking advantage of the network generated by Koelnmesse's portfolio of 20 already established Food & Foodtec events, we managed to increase the number of foreign exhibitors and visitors from international markets. The numbers speak for themselves, Cibus Tec, since the 2016 edition, has recorded a decisive increase in internationality: +24% of visitors and +59% of exhibitors. We have thus created a community between Cibus and Cibus Tec, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec which constitutes a unique business platform in the world.”

Testifying to the marked internationality of the event, thanks to the precious collaboration of the ICE Agency and the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region, is the presence at the fair, in these days, of 3000 VIP Visitors, Top Buyers and main figures of food & beverage companies from over 60 countries.

Representing the local institutions, Vincenzo Colla, councilor for Economic Development and Green Economy, Work, Training and International Relations - Emilia Romagna Region wanted to send a greeting and said, “With Cibus Tec, Parma and Emilia-Romagna confirm the excellence of a territory, like ours, where the food & beverage industry drives all economic sectors: obviously the primary sector, certainly the tertiary sector, but also a secondary sector of excellence in processing and product transformation. We are talking about precision mechanics, high technology and continuous innovation to meet the needs of a market that is increasingly attentive to the sustainability and quality of every single production step. An area in which Italy and Emilia-Romagna in particular, know how to compete in the world and create important added value, lots of employment and quality skills. And this is why as a Region we have invested to support the first master's degree in gastronomic sciences in Parma."

Finally, the inauguration ceremony was an opportunity to present the data from the first Cibus Tec machinery observatory for food & beverage, which aims to measure and monitor the size, performance, markets and competitiveness of the supply chain on international scale.

In this regard, the meeting was concluded by Emanuele Di Faustino, Head of Industry, Retail and Services at Nomisma, who oversaw the implementation of the project and stated, “Despite the uncertain international macro-economic and geopolitical scenario, the opportunities for a further expansion of Italian exports of Food & Beverage technologies and machinery in the coming years are plausible. The market of greatest interest for Italian companies is certainly the United States, the main world importer (7 billion euros in 2022) and the first destination for Made in Italy exports (1.2 billion euros), a record destined to remain so also in the future thanks to an expanding food industry and significant growth rates in demand for Italian machinery. Precisely in light of this strategic nature, the USA was the first market to be studied in depth within the newly created Machinery Observatory for Food & Beverage created by Nomisma for Cibus Tec,” he declared.

“It is a market that is continuing its growth in 2023 (+18% imports from Italy in the first 6 months of the year compared to an average of +10%) and presents precise specificities among the several federal states. Although the overall demand for made-in-Italy machines is concentrated in California and in the states of the Midwest, South and East Coast, for each segment, there are their own reference markets: for food processing the first export destination Italian is California, while for bottling and packaging, they are New York and Georgia respectively" concluded Di Faustino.