International Green Week

2010/01/25

C l o s i n g R e p o r t: Successful progress and an encouraging boost for agribusiness

60 ministers of agriculture started worldwide climate protection initiative in agriculture – Attendance by trade and public exceeds 400,000 – 42 million euros: Consumers keen to make purchases -
Worldwide coverage by 5,100 media representatives from 70 countries -

Berlin, 24 January 2010 – A world agricultural summit and major attractions for the public: once again the International Green Week Berlin 2010 (IGW) confirmed its standing as the world’s leading agricultural policy event and the largest consumer show anywhere in the world. Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Operating Officer of Messe Berlin GmbH, summed up the successful progress of this event: “The Green Week 2010 has given an encouraging boost to the entire agribusiness, and in a year that marks a significant anniversary for this trade fair it continues to exert its unique fascination. The trade fair experience has also been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of consumers. For the professionals the Green Week is the undisputed platform for discuss-ions about agricultural policy, a fact that was underlined this year by the participation by leading representatives of the entire added value chain. With the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture the 75th Green Week demonstrated its impressive and remarkable progress over the years. Originating as a local market place in 1926 it has evolved into a global agricultural summit meeting, which featured discussions this year between more than 50 ministers of agriculture and 200 board members and senior executives from companies in the food industry and agriculture.”

The Green Week was attended by some 200 leading politicians from home and abroad. As was the case last year, during its ten day run the fair attracted over 400,000 visitors, including some 100,000 trade visitors. In addition to the attendance by paying visitors, an average of some 12,000 other persons who were involved in the event, such as exhibitors and stand personnel and service staff, along with media representatives, were in the halls each day.

No signs of a crisis: the per-capita expenditure of 106 euros by consumers was slightly higher than last year’s figure (2009: 101 €), providing exhibitors with sales amounting to more than 42 million euros (2009: 41 mi. €). Efforts to address young people have been particularly successful this year. For example, some 22,000 pupils from Berlin, Brandenburg and adjoining states (+ 20 %) took part in the Schools Programme, organised by Messe Berlin. Sales of Family Tickets also rose by ten per cent.

Business success was achieved by a number of countries, including Russia, which reported contracts and business agreements worth 200 million euros during the first few days of the fair. This year’s partner country, Hungary, was also extremely satisfied with its progress at the fair. Hungarian exhibitors used their display and the direct contact with consumers to enhance the profile of known products, as well as to test out new specialities. According to the Minister of Agriculture, József Gráf, Hungary attaches greater importance to good quality than to mass production.

The trend for more regional products was very much in evidence at the Green Week 2010. Brandenburg’s Minister of Agriculture, Jutta Lieske, referred to this aspect when summing up her own state’s presentation: “The wide selection of products, the encounters between producers and consumers, and the opportunity to find out what consumers want all demonstrate that the Green Week, as a test market, is one of the most reliable indicators for the future of regional specialities”.

The concept of the new “States’ Hall: Germany”, involving 14 of the country’s federal states, proved to be highly effective. “A successful debut. The hall met with a very good response from visitors. Despite the difficult economic situation, on many of the stands the exhibitors’ expectations were even surpassed. For ten days in the “States’ Hall: Germany” the federal states provided a memorable and enjoyable demonstration of the capabilities of their food and agricultural industries, according to Peter Wachter, press spokesman of the Marketing Company for the Food and Agricultural Industries of Lower Saxony.

Worldwide coverage was provided by 5,100 media representatives from 70 countries. With 1,589 exhibitors from 56 countries and a total display area of 115,000 square metres, the 75th Green Week approached the record levels of last year’s event. In the year that the Green Week celebrated a significant anniversary it recorded its 30,000,000th visitor in its long history.

Statements by representatives of politics and business

The German Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the non-commercial sponsors of the Green Week summed up the events at the fair with the following statements:

Ilse Aigner, Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection: “The Green Week was a complete success for its exhibitors, participants and visitors. This fair is and will remain a major attraction for the public, offering a memorable experience and a wealth of information for the consumer. Once again political events with high-ranking participants took place parallel with the highlights for visitors. The International Summit of Ministers of Agriculture was attended by some 50 ministers of agriculture from all over the world, who launched a worldwide climate protection initiative in agriculture with their discussions on the subject of “Agriculture and Climate Change – New Political and Business Concepts”. This development demonstrated that the Green Week does not just focus on the enjoyment of food and drink, but also demonstrates the achievements and capabilities of the food industry, agriculture and horticulture in Germany and around the world, as well as providing an outstanding forum for a political dialogue.

Gerd Sonnleitner, President of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV): Despite the economic and financial crisis, which has also affected agriculture and the food industry, the mood in the exhibition halls has been a good one, displaying not a sense of depression but rather of renewed confidence that this crisis can be overcome. We can regard the positive development of international conferences on agriculture and the food industry with pride. When we consider all the various rounds of discussions that took place, it is obvious that a unique summit meeting between the representatives of business and politics, on the subjects of climate protection and the continued, innovative development of our agriculture and food industries has taken place at this Green Week 2010.”

Jürgen Abraham, Chairman of the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE): “The 75th Green Week was a magnet for the public and policy-makers alike. The in-depth discussions about the global issues of climate protection and world food supplies increased public awareness of the food industry and agriculture at the world’s largest consumer fair, as well as looking at answers to some of the current problems. We have demonstrated that we are a stable and innovative sector that brings many benefits for humankind. This greater self-awareness should enable the entire “foodstuffs” added value chain, from agriculture via the food industry to merchandising, to face the challenges of the future.

Food industry shows that it is consumer-oriented

The joint presentation by the BVE – Federation of German Food and Drink Industries and the BLL – German Federation of Food Law and Food Science, together with their partners, focused on promoting a dialogue with the consumer. “We are very satisfied with the keen interest in “Power for Life – Food and Exercise” and the many visitors it attracted, was the satisfied comment by BVE Chairman Jürgen Abraham. Children and young people in particular were informed about current issues concerning food labelling and the socio-political initiatives being undertaken by the food industry in the areas of sport and school meals. Numerous well known brands and associations from the retail food trade make use of the Green Week as a platform for direct contacts with consumers. Contributors included Abraham Schinken GmbH & Co. KG, Chiquita Deutschland GmbH, Coca Cola GmbH, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V., Ferrero Deutschland GmbH, Informationsgemeinschaft Deutsches Geflügel, Kraft Foods Deutschland Services GmbH & Co. KG, Nestlé Deutschland AG, Tv.gusto GmbH and Unilever Deutschland GmbH.

Representatives of the trade also expressed their satisfaction with their direct contacts with consumers at the Green Week. Josef Sanktjohanser, President of the HDE: “This is where consumers can make their first acquaintance with new developments, as well as with good quality, traditional agricultural products. It could be described as the first point of contact, making us aware of what we in the trade must focus on in preparing our new ranges.”

The Green Week is of particular importance for individual areas of the food industry such as the organic sector. Dr. Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein, Chairman of the Board of the National Association of the Ecological Food Industry: “This is where the entire agricultural world meets, plans are drawn up for the future, and concepts are compared with one another. For the organic sector this is also a good reason for attending this event and staging our presentations.”

Making its first appearance, the combined Fair Trade stand attracted a great deal of interest. Jörg Werler, Member of the Board of the Fair Trade Forum: “Politicians and the public came in large numbers, and this will help to make the ideas of Fair Trade more widely known.”

Per capita expenditure by visitors was 106 euros

Despite the current economic crisis, expenditure by consumers increased, as did the sales by exhibitors, compared with last year. The statistical average revealed that each visitor spent 106 euros (2009: 101€). Visitors spent an average of 22 euros each for food and drinks consumed at the fair (2009: 25 €). Each visitor also spent an average of some 84 euros on ordering other products (2009: 76€ ). Berlin and the surrounding region derive additional purchasing power amounting to some 150 million euros as a result of the visitors and exhibitors from outside the city who come to the Green Week.

Agricultural policy-makers and agriculture in a global dialogue

With the involvement of distinguished participants in the “Global Forum for Food and Agriculture Berlin 2010” the International Green Week once again demonstrated its ability to provide an impetus for global agricultural and food policy: politicians, scientists and economic experts from all over the world met for discussions at the numerous specialist events of this three-day forum on the subject of “Agriculture and Climate Change – New Political and Business Concepts”.

Some 50 ministers of agriculture, twice as many as at last year’s event, accepted the invitation from Germany’s Federal Minister of Agriculture, Ilse Aigner, in order to launch an international initiative to combat the effects of climate change at the Berlin Summit of Ministers of Agriculture 2010. The aim was effect changes in the structure of agriculture around the world so that it impacts less on the climate, as well as remaining productive enough to feed a growing world population. “We should use Copenhagen as the occasion to state ‘Now, more than ever!’”, said the minister in presenting the closing document, whose signatories represent around half of the world’s population.

Speaking at the International Panel of Ministers of Agriculture in the ICC Berlin, which was attended by more than 1,000 experts from all over the world, Alexander Müller, Deputy Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations – FAO –, drew attention to the interconnections between climate change, agriculture and world food supplies: “We cannot safeguard world food supplies if we are unable to get a grip on climate change, and we will not be able to get a grip on climate change unless agriculture is allowed to play a central role.”

Discussions about the form that such a process of adaptation could take place were held between the various experts at the subsequent International Business Panel under the heading of “Limited Resources and Climate Change – Managing a Turbulent Future”, which was organised jointly by the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE), the German Farmers’ Union (DBV), the German Agricultural Society (DLG), the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations (OA).

The importance of the Green Week for such a high level exchange of views was explained by Laurent Sédogo, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Water Resources of Burkina Faso, at the closing press conference of the Summit of Ministers of Agriculture: “Last year we were able to attend the Green Week with a delegation and I must admit we were very pleased with the outcome. We achieved very good results and brought many producers and our country’s products over from Burkina Faso. We have an opportunity here to engage in discussions with German companies, and to talk to representatives of the agro-industry. This is very important for us due to the need for the continued development of agriculture in Africa. We were also able to hold talks with companies offering technical solutions about ways of improving the quality of products, and what possibilities exist for the acquisition of technology. These are the subjects that are important for us and which formed the subject matter of our discussions: the transfer of technology and the exchange of knowledge.”

High-ranking politicians present every day at the fair

This year the outstanding importance of the Green Week for agricultural policy was underlined by the presence of some 200 leading politicians from Germany and abroad, including over 50 ministers of agriculture from all over the world. During her tour at the start of the fair, Germany’s Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner, welcomed no fewer than 15 of her European counterparts on their country’s stands. The outstanding guests included the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, Victor A. Zubkov, and the State President of the Republic of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who was attending the Green Week with his wife. The opening ceremonies in the ICC Berlin, attended by some 5,000 distinguished guests from all over the world, bore all the hallmarks of the partner country, Hungary, which was represented by its Minister of Agriculture, József Gráf.

As well as Germany’s Minister of Agriculture, Ilse Aigner, other prominent guests at the Green Week 2010 included the Federal Minister of Defence, Dr. Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg, the Federal Minister of Transport, Dr. Peter Ramsauer, the Federal Minister of Research, Prof. Annette Schavan, and Minister of State Eckard von Klaeden. Eleven federal state secretaries also attended the fair. In addition to Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit, various Minister-Presidents of German federal states visited the representatives of their own states, including Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Böhmer (Saxony-Anhalt), Peter Harry Carstensen (Schleswig-Holstein), Christina Lieberknecht (Thuringia), Matthias Platzeck (Brandenburg) and Erwin Sellering (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania). A total of 36 state premiers, ministers and permanent secretaries from Germany’s federal states also attended the Green Week.

A total of 80 ministers, deputy ministers, permanent secretaries and prime ministers from abroad as well as 77 ambassadors and consuls, and 44 agricultural attachés attended the Green Week, accompanied by their delegations. Gerd Sonnleitner, President of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) and Jürgen Abraham, Chairman of the German Federation of Food and Drink Industries (BVE) attended as representatives of the non-commercial sponsors of the Green Week.

Positive assessments by exhibitors, trade visitors and the public

Among the main objectives of exhibitors at the Green Week were to “publicise their own companies/conduct PR”, to provide “information” and to “sell to consumers”. The overwhelming majority of exhibitors were able to achieve these objectives with considerable success and were satisfied with the commercial outcome of the fair. In addition two thirds of the exhibitors are expecting very good to satisfactory business after the fair. Four fifths of the exhibitors reported their overall satisfaction with the way things had gone during the fair, would recommend the Green Week to business partners, and stated their intention of taking part in the next Green Week.

Among the general public and trade visitors this overall satisfaction, readiness to recommend the fair and the intention to return next year remained at the same high level. The range on offer at the Green Week was assessed by 97 per cent of visitors as very good to satisfactory. Of those questioned, 94 per cent were satisfied with their visit to the trade show. 90 per cent of trade visitors and 93 per cent of the general public who attended would recommend attendance at the Green Week to acquaintances, colleagues and people with whom they do business. And 88 per cent of all visitors announced their willingness to visit the next Green Week in Berlin.

Trade visitors expressed their satisfaction with their commercial results during the fair. While they were at the Green Week this target group were able to sign contracts and over half of them anticipate follow-up business. The main emphasis was on providing information about the products on offer and about the industry in general, as well as cultivating contacts. The trade visitors came predominantly from agriculture and forestry, represented food and luxury products, or were traders.

Members of the general public attended primarily because the Green Week offers new items and a great deal to see and experience, and also in order to sample and purchase products from all over the world. Among the general public the most popular sections were the International Floral Hall, Pets & Plants, the Livestock Hall, the Farm Experience, “Power for Life – Food and Exercise“, the Bio Market/Fair Trade, and nature.tec.

Heinz Herker, President Main Horticultural Association (ZVG): “The redesigned horticultural section in Hall 9 proved highly effective. It enabled us to make contact with many gardening and flower enthusiasts. At the same time, with all its different facets and opportunities to contacts, the Green Week is also a meeting place for politicians – an outstanding event for us gardeners too.”

Dr. Gibfried Schenk, General Manager of the Group for Promoting Sustainable Agriculture (FNL), which was in charge of organising the Farm Experience: “The Farm Experience is one of the most attractive events providing information about modern farming at the Green Week. For consumers, for adults and young people alike, it offers interesting information and entertainment for all. The FNL is an enthusiast supporter of the Green Week.”

Dr. Andreas Schütte, General Manager, Renewable Raw Materials Agency (Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.): “We are talking here about renewable raw materials, a particularly important aspect. Visitors have showed keen interest in this subject. The Green Week is also a meeting place for many representatives of various interests, and for politicians, providing them with a forum for their discussions.”

Dates of the next event: 21 to 30 January 2011

The International Green Week Berlin 2010 was organised by Messe Berlin GmbH. Its non-commercial sponsors are the German Farmers’ Union (DBV) and the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE). The 76th Green Week will be taking place from 21 to 30 January 2011 on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds.

Additional press material:

This press release, 250 reports on events taking place during the Green Week, more than 500 topical press photos and over 200 historical photos, 35 radio items and original sound recordings as well as 70 minutes of footage about the Green Week 2010 can also be found on the internet: www.gruenewoche.com / Press Service.


Additional information about the International Green Week

can be found on our website at www.gruenewoche.com.

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gruenewoche and visit the Green Week on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grune-Woche/156395376771?v=app_2309869772&ref=ts
More images and sound clips are available on the International Green Week YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/GrueneWoche


Press contacts:
Organiser:

Messe Berlin GmbHPress contacts:
Organiser:

Messe Berlin GmbH
Michael T. Hofer
Group Press and Public Relations
Director

Press Officer
Wolfgang Rogall
Messedamm 22
D-14055 Berlin
Tel.: +49(0)030 / 3038-2218
Fax: +49(0)30 / 3038-2287
rogall@messe-berlin.de

Management: Raimund Hosch (CEO), Dr. Christian Göke Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Hans-Joachim Kamp
Commercial Register, Amtsgericht (District Court) Charlottenburg, HRB 5484 B

Non-commercial sponsors

German Farmers’ Union (DBV)
Press Spokesman
Dr. Michael Lohse
Tel. +49(0)30 / 319 04 239
presse@bauernverband.net
www.bauernverband.de

Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE),
General Manager
Dr. Sabine Eichner Lisboa
Tel.: +49(0)30 / 200786 151
seichner@bve-online