Interpom | Primeurs 2012 welcomes a record number of visitors

The 16th edition of INTERPOM | PRIMEURS in Kortrijk Xpo shot past the record-breaking number of visitors at the last event: with an amazing 17 678 visitors this year, INTERPOM | PRIMEURS clocked up a spectacular 25.7% more visitors. These statistics prove beyond a shadow of doubt that INTERPOM | PRIMEURS is the most successful specialised indoor trade fair in Europe – or even the world – for professionals from the entire potato, fruit and vegetable chain, from growing to processing and marketing.

2012–13 was a challenging and surprising season for the potato sector and together with the high prices, this was an extra reason to visit INTERPOM | PRIMEURS to keep a weather eye on future market developments and consider new investments. Many exhibitors had also waited for the trade fair as the ideal occasion to launch their new products for the first time. Optimism could be felt everywhere on the exhibition floor. It was also striking that there were visitors from all continents.

Building on a successful edition in 2010, INTERPOM PRIMEURS has again achieved further growth. With a new record number of 258 exhibitors (+14%) from 15 countries, and for the second time running an additional exhibition hall (+17%), expectations were running high. In fact, INTERPOM | PRIMEURS 2012 beat all expectations with a spectacular increase in visitor numbers of no less than 25.7%. The organizers welcomed a total of 17 678 visitors: 8 619 on the Sunday (+21% compared with the last event), 5 125 on the Monday (+45%) and 3 934 on the closing day (+17.7%).

Inno Potato Award 2012

Innovation is not just an empty buzzword – it is absolutely essential if businesses are to stay afloat in the current economic situation. Belgian potato growers are convinced of the importance of innovation and also work hard to improve the quality of their potatoes every year. The potato sector as a whole rewards these efforts by presenting the Inno Potato Award for the second time on the closing day of INTERPOM | PRIMEURS.

Cocquyt from Zwevezele and De Vriese from Pont-à-Celles are the winners of this second Inno Potato Award. Their projects were selected by their fellow potato growers and a professional jury as the most innovative entries. Cocquyt impressed everyone with his potato planting machine with GPS guiding system and spraying equipment and he is the winner in Flanders. De Vriese was the winner for Wallonia with his anti-erosion planting system.

The second and third prizes for Flanders went to potato growers Geert Deconinck and Guido Lammerant, and for Wallonia, the second prize was for Etienne Delbeke and third prize for Adrien Rasse. Representatives of Minister Peeters and Minister Di Antonio presented the awards and first, second and third prizes of € 1 500, € 1 000 and € 750 at the official prize-giving ceremony on the closing day of INTERPOM PRIMEURS. The monetary prizes were provided by the Flemish and Walloon governments. Further information can be found at www.innopotato.be.

The seminar on precision agriculture coordinated by PCA, Inagro and Carah was also very popular. In conjunction with a number of exhibitors active in the field of GPS systems, each presentation described an important aspect of precision agriculture covered by the presenter’s own range of products. The aim was to demonstrate what the sector has to offer today and what farmers should take into consideration when planning future investments to maintain a high-performance business. The next edition of INTERPOM | PRIMEURS is scheduled for 23, 24 &25 November 2014 in Kortrijk Xpo. Further information about INTERPOM| PRIMEURS and the 2014 edition will follow soon.