The Italian Embassy in Tokyo is hosting a preview of 'Tuttofood', the exhibition for the Food & Beverage sector to be held at the Fiera di Milano from 5 to 8 May, already considered a reference point for the food and wine world.
The aim of the initiative organised at the diplomatic headquarters in the centre of the capital in a crucial week, is to provide a preview of the Milanese fair, first and foremost to Japanese operators, as part of a promotion promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with ICE Agency and the Association of Italian Trade Fair Exhibitions (Aefi).
"There couldn't be a better moment to celebrate this initiative," Ambassador to Tokyo Gianluigi Benedetti told the large audience of guests. "We are in fact in the week of Foodex, the most important showcase for promoting the products of Italian companies in Japan and Asia, and the presence of more than 200 Italian exhibitors, a number that is constantly growing, demonstrates how strongly and enthusiastically our companies want to be present in this country.
"'Tuttofood' is an immersive and distinctive event, a hub of innovation thanks to interactive technologies and experiential formats, available to companies from all over the world," said Antonio Cellie, CEO of Fiere di Parma, after visiting the corresponding exhibition that ended today in the Japanese capital. "Foodex has always been a leading indicator of the year's trend, because it is the first major global trade fair to be held over the course of 12 months. And this year was also a confirmation of a progressive turn towards quality,' the Italian manager tells ANSA. 'It is clear that people are eating less and better, and this rewards selected markets and producers: Japan, which is a consumer and producer of quality, and Italy, which is a country of quality products'. On the Food & Beverage sector weighs, at a global level, the unknown of the duties waved by the Trump administration, in the United States, but that does not seem to worry Cellie. "It is unthinkable that food products could be affected by duties above 10-15% for Made in Italy. My prediction is this: those who buy Made in Italy have a rather high 'net worth', so the 10% price increase over inflation on domestic products they will have will be almost irrelevant. Paradoxically, with duties we will be even more competitive on American tables in relative terms. Obviously, however, this will mean that some countries with which we have a free trade relationship, such as Japan or Korea, will become more and more fluid, making those markets more permeable, not least because they are ready to receive our products. If we lose a billion in exports to the US - and I don't think we will lose it - we will certainly not struggle to recover it in countries like Japan and in Asia in general."
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