BERLIN, Jan 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – After a two-year COVID-19 break, the International Green Week, a leading trade fair for food, agriculture and horticulture, opened to visitors again here yesterday.
Until Jan 29, the Green Week offers a global market overview of the food industry and the “largest range of regional specialties,” according to the organisers. Around 1,400 exhibitors from 60 countries welcome an estimated 300,000 visitors, 100,000 less than in the pre-pandemic years.
The fair is “the showcase par excellence of the agricultural and food industry,” Germany’s Minister for Agriculture, Cem Oezdemir said, in his opening speech. “The way we eat has a significant impact on what agriculture produces, how it produces it – and what the consequences are for people, nature and the climate.”
Food and feed production is causing around 70 percent of biodiversity loss and 75 percent of deforestation, according to World Wildlife Fund. In addition, almost a third of the world’s fish stocks are considered overfished.
Addressing the issues of sustainability, food security and climate action, Berlin International Green Week will feature more than 300 side events, with numerous experts from politics, business and science, including high-ranking representatives of international organisations, such as the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation.
The “political highlight” of the fair is the 15th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, according to the organisers. Until today, around 80 national ministers of agriculture will discuss the industry’s global response to multiple crises with more than 2,000 experts.
