SPACE 2012: 100,000 expected to visit this year
The French agricultural exhibition SPACE opened yesterday with a record number of 1,283 exhibitors, occupying 62,500sqm floor space.
The show will present the latest developments from the pig, poultry, dairy & beef, sheep and even rabbit production industries.
361 exhibiting companies travelled from outside France. The increase in floor space and number of national and international exhibitors is, according to Jean Michel Lemetayer, chairman of SPACE, the result of a growing interest from foreign visitors.
The French agribusiness enjoyed a positive economic result over 2011 and expects the same for this year, despite the increasing prices for feedstuffs.
SPACE is enjoying a tremendous interest from various official international delegations this year. The majority are coming from South East Asia and Africa.
Francois Hollande, the recently elected president of France also paid a vist to SPACE. In his address to the exhibitors and invited guests he promised that his government will support French agribusiness so it can again become leading in Europe and even in the world. France used to be a major exporter of poultry meat but has lost its position and is today a net importer.
The show runs this week from Tuesday until Friday in Rennes, the capital of Brittany and is expecting over 100,000 visitors.
