Agricultural machinery: the Balkan platform off to a good start
EIMA SEE scored a success with the first edition of the exposition dedicated to agricultural machinery and equipment staged in Albania for the entire area of the Balkan region. More than 2,500 businesspeople visited the stands hosting the Italian manufacturers. Also featured were conferences on technical and policy issues with a focus on Italian-Albanian cooperation. The second edition is set for May next year
The first edition of EIMA South East Europe turned in a positive balance sheet for the agricultural mechanization exposition held in Tirana from 13 to 15 June in the Exhibition and Congress Hall in the center of the Albanian capital. The review was organized by an Italian-Albanian partnership forged by the Italian Federation of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, FederUnacoma, and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari and, on the Albanian side, the EKR National Rural Agency and the Polytechnic and University of Albania in Tirana. Taking part were 45 Italian manufacturers and some 2,500 visitors arriving for the static exhibition and field trials set up on a farming area near the Tirana airport as well as for the conferences scheduled for the run of the trade fair. Among the speakers taking the rostrum at the National Conference on Agriculture, organized by EKR for dealing with policy issues, were Albanian Minister for Agriculture Edmond Panariti, EKR Chairman Agim Rrapaj and FederUnacoma President Massimo Goldoni. Another conference focused on technical matters, Agricultural Machinery and Plant for the Italian Agro-Industry Compatibility with Albanian Lands sponsored by the University of Bari, was led by university faculty member Biagio Bianchi. Taking part in this assembly were experts and members of the University of Tirana faculty and in attendance were students and technical experts. FederUnacoma President commented, “The EIMA South East Europe review creates a bridge to the entire Balkan area and aims to become a point of reverence also for such countries as Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and other countries in the region displaying growth in their agricultural economies and in need of strengthening their own mechanical and equipment inventories.”
The president of the Italian Federation of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, Goldoni, affirmed that the formula for the exposition was “an immediate success because it has enabled farmers to come into contact with machinery and equipment produced for all types of operations and to select those which are most suited to the needs of various lands and differing models of farming enterprises.”
“Marco Acerbi, the FederUnacoma director of events, said “An event like this one also works to make the market more transparent in that farmers in this region can make comparisons of differing technological solutions and negotiate directly with the manufacturing industries and sales networks on price and conditions for the acquisition of machinery.” Noteworthy among the services offered by the new exposition is financing made more accessible through accredited banks within the trade fair for financing purchases and agencies for assisting in the procedures required for gaining public contributions for mechanization. On the number of agricultural machines Italy exports to the Balkan countries, reported for 2013 were Italian tractors sales which came to about 1,000 for Slovenia, 820 for Bulgaria, more than 460 for Romania, 450 for Greece, 270 for Croatia and 180 for Albania. These volumes can grow significantly however thanks to the use of targeted European Union and development cooperation funds. The next edition, already announced for May 2015, will become an instrument for gauging the conditions of these markets.
