New trade fair in Brazil for Ieg, which debuts in the agri-food sector

Italian Exhibition Group (Ieg) strengthens its presence in Brazil, a key market for the group's expansion abroad, and makes its debut in the agro-food sector. The trade fair company (owner of the Rimini and Vicenza quarters) has in fact acquired 51% of Fenagra, the International Agroindustrial Feed&Food Fair, through its subsidiary Ieg Brazil, which now counts in its portfolio 12 events in various industrial fields, from construction to geotechnologies, from space to health.

"This is the most important operation we have done so far in Brazil, a market with great potential for the trade fair sector, where we achieve about 30 million Real in turnover and where we have the objective of becoming one of the top five trade fair organisers in the country," explains Corrado Peraboni, CEO of IEG, who announces three more operations by the end of the first half of the year, on other markets: "In these times of uncertainty on the markets, we must diversify our geographies as much as possible," he says. The weight of foreign activities on the group's total turnover has increased from 10% to 15% in one year, thanks to our presence in ten countries through our own companies and events. The most important in terms of size is the United States, followed by Dubai, while Brazil now plays third with Mexico'.

The decision to acquire Fenagra is part of the Ieg group's expansion plan, aimed at strengthening its global presence in strategic sectors, confirmed Carlo Costa, president of Ieg Brasil and cco of Ieg, Francesco Santa, the group's international business development director: "This operation required a complex ten-month effort and reflects our strategic line of diversification in markets to make our group increasingly resilient.

With Fenagra, Ieg looks at a sector that is still unattended but strategic for growth. "Agro-industry in Brazil is worth 170 billion dollars and represents 50% of total exports," Peraboni points out. In particular, the newly acquired event (which will take place from 13 to 15 May in Sanpaolo, with 230 exhibitors from 17 countries and 16 thousand square metres of exhibition space) is very focused on the animal nutrition sector, including that of compound feeds, which is worth about 45 billion dollars and is estimated to grow by 3% over the next five years.

'Very interesting is another related topic, pet food, where Brazil is the fourth largest market in the world,' says the CEO. For South America as a whole, double-digit annual growth is estimated and a forecast of USD 30 billion in sales in 2025. Fenagra is also home to companies that process fats from animal feed, used in the cosmetics industry, and vegetable oils (Brazil alone produces half of all of South America), mainly for biofuels.