Food fair opens in Berlin

16 January 2004

BERLIN – Berlin’s giant food festival, the International Green Week (IGW), opened its doors Friday for a 10-day exhibition of the latest products by the world’s food industry.

Fair organisers said 1,581 exhibitors from 56 countries were participating in the 69th edition of the IGW, a fair which traditionally is used by food producers to test new products on a willing public.

Some 600,000 people are expected to visit this year’s IGW, running through 25 January, exhibition organisers predicted.

The show got underway Friday with the traditional tour of the exhibition halls by top business and government officials, led by German Agriculture Minister Renate Kuenast and farmers federation president Gerd Sonnleitner.

Besides the food show, the IGW is also a venue for some 250 expert symposia and panel discussions on a wide range of issues pertaining to the food and agricultural industry.

The European Union’s expansion into eastern Europe is one of this year’s topics, with East European countries using the Green Week as a showcase for their food products.

At the official opening ceremonies on Thursday evening, European Union Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler warned against “false economizing” in the form of subsidy cutbacks.

Responding to the ongoing debate over currency stability and deficit spending in the EU, Fischler said less is not always more when it comes to economizing on the farm sector.

“More Europe for less money is a trick that nobody can pull off,” he said in warning against any further slashing of subsidies to farmers.

DPA
Subject: German news