iffa-2025

Food 4 Future 2022 kicks off to make the Basque Country the world capital of the foodtech sector

expofoodtechThe technological event was inaugurated today in the presence of the Basque Government's Minister for Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment, Arantxa Tapia, the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, and representatives of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

More than 7,000 congress participants will meet in Bilbao from today until 19 May to learn about the technological trends that are transforming the food and beverage industry.

BiFood 4 Future- Expo FoodTech 2022, the international technology event at which to discover the latest innovations and solutions that are transforming the food sector, today opened the doors of its second edition at the BEC in Bilbao. The Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, Arantxa Tapia; the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto; and the Secretary General of Agriculture and Food of the Government, Fernando Miranda; together with the Deputy for Economic Promotion of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Ainara Basurko; and the President of Food 4 Future Expo Foodtech, Jordi Gallés, have inaugurated this morning Food 4 Future 2022, an event that will bring together until Thursday more than 7. The Basque Country will be the world capital of foodtech innovation.

Arranca Food 4 Future 2022

Arantxa Tapia stressed that "this forum is an opportunity for professionals from all links in the value chain to share knowledge and experiences in order to grow" and referred to two major projects launched by the Basque Government to promote innovation and transformation in the agri-food sector. "From the Basque Country we are working on the Basque Green Deal, which brings together sustainability policies applied to agriculture; as well as on the transformation of the industry from gastronomy, with the Gastronomy Open Ecosystem, based on the BCC, which will develop start-ups and attract knowledge so that innovation is transferred from the smallest bar to the last of the Michelin Stars, and that means working in a different way".

For his part, the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, highlighted that "Food 4 Future is a great opportunity for the food industry, which accounts for 11% of the world's GDP. In fact, this congress alone will generate an economic impact of more than 14 million euros for the city. For us, the celebration of Food 4 Future is a great satisfaction, we continue to work on the international dimension of Bilbao".

The Provincial Councillor for Economic Promotion of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Ainara Basurko, pointed out that "this is a great opportunity to continue positioning Bizkaia and the Basque Country as a centre for food innovation. Food 4 Future represents an opportunity that facilitates innovation, interaction and collaboration; it is an important forum to grow the foodtech startup community and build relationships between them and large companies".

On behalf of the Government, Fernando Miranda, Secretary General for Agriculture and Food, highlighted the recent approval of the agri-food PERTE as a lever for the transformation of the agri-food sector, with a budget of 1,800 million euros. Miranda announced that the government "will allocate 79 million euros to invest in precision agriculture and 4.0 technologies. We are going to implement a digitalisation strategy for the agri-food sector, and we are going to implement the participative credits granted through ENISA for start-ups in the agri-food sector".

Jordi Gallés, President of Food 4 Future 2022, underlined the importance of events such as this one, which bring together the latest technological trends with food trends to define the way forward for the industry and establish a joint framework for action in the coming years. "If Food 4 Future made sense before the pandemic, it makes even more sense today". Challenges such as the war in Ukraine, population growth and climate change require, in Gallés' words, "new minds to help us rethink the industry from a new perspective. This forum is key and will be key to achieving a healthier and more sustainable food system".

Foodtech disruption, present at Food 4 Future 2022

With the second edition of Food 4 Future in Bilbao, the international forum is consolidating its position as the best place to find the best partner in the foodtech sector from among the more than 250 exhibiting firms that are presenting the latest applications in food technology, robotics and automation, data technology and processing techniques. Sergio Fabregat, director of Food 4 Future, stressed that "during the three days of the congress we will present more than 700 innovations to boost the foodtech industry. The aim is to create a space in which to generate contacts that will help the industry to develop new business opportunities and more efficient and responsible models for the consumer and the environment". www.expofoodtech.com