This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the fair has been held in an unusual minimalist form. However, Polagra is still the most important business event dedicated to the food and hospitality industry.

“The exhibitors taking part in the fair show how important and how valuable Polish food produce is. Whether we talk about meat or dairy products, everything is of the finest quality,” stressed J. K. Ardanowski.

‘Polska Smakuje’

During his visit to the exhibition, the Polish Minister of Agriculture was accompanied by the Hungarian State Secretary for Agriculture, Mr Zsolt Feldman. The politicians had the opportunity to see what Polish food producers offer for sale in the domestic market and for export. The visit created a platform for exchanging experience on the functioning of the agri-food market in both countries.

“The Hungarian State Secretary for Agriculture was pleasantly surprised and delighted to see and try excellent Polish produce. We also talked about how Polish companies are increasing their production for export,” said Ardanowski.

Mr Feldman and Mr Ardanowski visited, among others, the stand of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the National Support Centre for Agriculture, organised under the tagline ‘Polska Smakuje’ (Poland Tastes), the stand of ‘Polski Cukier’, i.e. Krajowa Spółka Cukrowa S.A. and the stand of Polish Meat Association.

Mr Feldman also invited Mr Ardanowski to the Hungarian stand. It was a great opportunity to solemnly open the Hungarian expo organised under the tagline 'Wines of Hungary', as the Hungarians came to Poznań with a wide range of Hungarian wines.

Ministers of Agriculture at the V4+7 Summit

Polagra is not only a fair but also a series of accompanying events: conferences, competitions, workshops and trainings. This year, on the occasion of the Polish presidency over the Visegrad Group, a V4+7 Summit of the Ministers of Agriculture has also been held. Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski invited to Poznań the Ministers of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and Romania. The politicians discussed the new framework of the common agricultural policy and signed a joint declaration on the matter. Some of the invited delegates, such as the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, participated in the meeting online.

Awards

The fair has also created an opportunity to hand in the awards granted to the most deserving people in Polish agriculture, as well as to the most appreciated companies in the agri-food industry.

This year, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski was one of the awarded ones. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development received a silver medal ‘Labor omnia vincit’ awarded by the Hipolit Cegielski Society for promoting the idea of organic work.

A Gold Medal, Consumer's Choice at POLAGRA 2020, was awarded to Przedsiębiorstwo Zbożowo-Młynarskie ‘PZZ’ w Stoisławiu S.A. for extra coarse oats.

POLAGRA 2020

For many years, Polagra has been the most important business event dedicated to the food and hospitality industry. It is the largest fair promoting food and food technology, as well as equipment and solutions for HoReCa. It is a platform where innovative food technologies, high-quality food products and solutions for the catering industry are presented. The 2020 fair was organised with the above in mind and composed of 3 parallel showrooms: food, food tech and HoReCa. The fair has been held under the new logotype and, due to the coronavirus pandemic, following the new sanitary regulations.

“I wish the organisers of the Polagra Fair that this misfortune, which is the coronavirus pandemic that complicates our lives so much and hinders the organisation of events, is finally over. I wish that this fair returned to its full glory and became anew this important and huge undertaking for the Polish agriculture”, said Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski.

The 2020 Polagra Fair ends on 30 September.