Despite the will of the organisers, the evolution of the pandemic and the consequent uncertainty generated in the business sector make it inadvisable to maintain the classic approach of the Lleida show
This year, the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair and Eurofruit will be held in their most atypical form, with no physical exhibitors and “re
Attività tecniche e professionali
D’altra parte, Fira de Lleida ritiene che, al di là dei limiti di questa soluzione, sia opportuno tenere la Fira de Sant Miquel in questo formato fondamentalmente digitale per mantenere almeno il ruolo di piattaforma formativa e informativa che la manifestazione ha avuto per decenni e “per rispetto” degli enti che hanno lavorato in questi mesi per organizzare le attività tecniche di questa edizione.
In questo senso, il direttore generale di Fira de Lleida, Oriol Oró, ha annunciato che sono già state programmate diverse attività in formato digitale, che possono essere seguite in streaming, interagendo via chat, e che saranno poi conservate sul sito web per eventuali consultazioni future.
Ci saranno anche alcuni eventi faccia a faccia, come la visita della missione commerciale bielorussa (con incontri d’affari e una presentazione d’affari). In questa visita della delegazione dell’ex Repubblica Sovietica spicca la costituzione della prestigiosa azienda produttrice di trattori MTW, la quinta al mondo per importanza nel suo settore, e che viene presentata “ufficialmente” a Lleida come porta d’ingresso per la commercializzazione in Spagna e nell’Europa meridionale.
Saranno inoltre consegnati personalmente il 49° Premio del libro agricolo e il 5° Premio dell’articolo tecnico agricolo, del valore di 4.000 euro, organizzati ogni anno nell’ambito della fiera Lleida. L’evento si terrà il 25 settembre. Le attività si svolgeranno a La Llotja de Lleida e presso la sede di Magical Media.
La 66° edizione della Fiera Agricola di Sant Miquel e la 35° edizione di Eurofruit Fair si svolgeranno dal 24 al 27 settembre.
converted” into a digital event that will offer an online catalogue of exhibitors, promoted through the networks, and various technical activities through the Internet, such as conferences and lectures (exceptionally, some face-to-face events will be held). The Delegate Commission of the Fira de Lleida Foundation, “despite the enormous technical, economic and human effort” carried out by the trade fair institution to hold the show, has taken this decision after evaluating the current situation in depth and after sounding out the sector, which views the present evolution of the pandemic and the measures which may be taken day by day by the health authorities with uncertainty.
Jaume Saltó, president of the Delegate Commission of the Fira de Lleida Foundation and the Lleida Chamber of Commerce, explained that the directors of the Fira de Lleida Foundation have concluded that, despite the 85% of exhibition space reserved for the summer, the uncertainty caused by the health situation in the sector does not guarantee a fair with the right contents and critical mass of visitors. Saltó explained that the health situation to date generates many doubts and that, in view of the unclear future, in the last week many companies have shown reticence in exhibiting.
Saltó also regretted the loss of the positive economic impact that the Sant Miquel Fair and Eurofruit generate on the territory, valued at some 8 million euros in sectors as hard hit as services for fairs (stand assembly, security, etc.), hotels and restaurants, transport and trade, among others.
With regard to the organisation of this year’s edition, the representatives of Fira de Lleida explained that during the first half of the year, Fira de Lleida’s commercial work and the contracting of space by companies (achieving the aforementioned 85%) took place, which were contracted with the intention of attending the fair but with the unknown quantity of the evolution of the pandemic and the real situation in September. On 22 July, the Catalan Civil Protection Territorial Plan (Procicat) approved a specific plan for the fairs, and during the month of August Fira de Lleida worked under pressure and uncertainty to find and contact technology suppliers who would allow the regulations to be met and the fair to be held with guarantees, and the entire event was redefined and adapted to the new protocol.
On 2nd September, the plan for the show was presented to Fira de Lleida’s Delegate Commission and the celebration of the show was approved with the measures adopted to guarantee compliance with Procicat’s regulations. The Commission then informed the sector of the characteristics of the show’s new approach, which expressed its concerns and fears about the present and future situation of the pandemic and questioned the viability of the trade show with the measures required by Procicat.
The member institutions of the Fira de Lleida Board of Trustees reiterate that, precisely because of the economic situation generated by the Covidien-19 pandemic, a great effort has been made during these months to be able to hold this year’s edition of Sant Miquel and Eurofruit with the maximum guarantees of safety, considering these shows to be a lever for economic reactivation and the generation of business confidence, as well as a sign of the progressive return to normality. In this sense, it was planned to implement a cutting-edge system with Artificial Intelligence to ensure compliance and traceability of the measures set out in the Procicat action plan and guarantee the safety of visitors, exhibitors and organisers.
Technical and professional activities
On the other hand, Fira de Lleida considers that, beyond the limitations of this solution, it is advisable to hold the Sant Miquel Fair in this basically digital format in order to maintain at least the role of training and information platform that the show has had for decades and “out of respect” for the entities that have worked in recent months to organise technical activities for this edition.
In this sense, the general manager of Fira de Lleida, Oriol Oró, has announced that various activities have already been programmed in digital format, which can be followed via streaming, interacting via chat and which will then be kept on the website for possible future consultations.
There will also be some face-to-face events, such as the visit of the Belarusian trade mission (with business meetings and a business presentation). In this visit of the delegation from the former Soviet republic, the incorporation of the prestigious MTW tractor manufacturer, the fifth most important company in the world in its sector, stands out. It is being “officially” presented in Lleida as a gateway for its commercialisation in Spain and southern Europe.
The 49th Agricultural Book Award and the 5th Agricultural Technical Article Award will also be presented in person, awards worth 4,000 euros which are organised annually within the framework of the Lleida show. The event will take place on 25 September. The activities will take place at La Llotja de Lleida and at the Magical Media headquarters.
The 66th edition of the Sant Miquel Agricultural Fair and the 35th edition of the Eurofruit show will take place from 24th to 27th September.
