For several months now the Coronavirus health crisis has affected every aspect of French, European and global industries. Agriculture is one of the few sectors continuing to operate, albeit with some changes.
Nevertheless, the exhibitions and events sector has ground to a standstill and the agricultural and landscaping shows, which should have been held over the coming days and months, are being moved to later dates.
This upheaval in the events calendar is significant for the sector’s professionals because many business opportunities presented themselves at these venues.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of the changes in dates for the shows scheduled to be held before the end of the year 2020:
A decision was made in earl-March for the Journées de Collections trade show, which was to take place from 7th to 9th April in Marseilles, to be rescheduled for 12th to 14th May, but after the announcement yesterday evening that the lockdown in France would be extended to 11th May, we can expect the dates for this event to be changed once again. The timetable for the events to be held in April and May has been severely disrupted…
The Dubai show, Middle East Smart Landscape Summit 2020, initially scheduled for 7th to 8th April 2020, has been moved to 12th to 13th October 2020.
The EIRMX show in Queretaro, Mexico, which should have been held from 13th to 17th April, has been rescheduled to take place from 13th to 17th July 2020.
There have even been cancellations, with the abandonment of the SIAM International Agricultural Show at MEKNES in Morocco, which was scheduled to take place from 14th to 19th April 2020.
- The IFAT trade fair, (water, sewage, waste and raw materials) which should have taken place from 4th to 8th May, has been rescheduled for 7th to 11th June 2020.
The Caspian Agro show, which was expected to take place from 19th to 21st May, is rescheduled to take place in November, from the 18th to the 20th, still being held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Agri Tech Asia, which normally takes place from 7th to 9th May, has been rescheduled for 14th to 16th October, still to be held in Bangkok.
For events due to take place in June, the DLG Felgate show has been deferred until next year, from 8th to 10th June in Erwitte, Germany. Other shows, such as Agritech Africa, have also chosen to put the date back, being rescheduled for 28th to 30th November in Kenya (Nairobi).
For the shows due to be held in September, very few changes have been mentioned; Innov Agri (France, from 8th to 10th), Glee at the NEC (UK, 15th to 17 Sept) and Spoga GAfa (Germany, from 6th to 8th September) have kept to their original dates, with only Irrigation Australia (Sydney, 22nd to 28th September) being rescheduled for July 2021 (6th to 12th July).
In France, the SIMA show, which was scheduled to take place from 8th to 12th November, has been rescheduled for 21st to 25th February 2021.
For the time being, the unmissable major events - EIMA in Bologna and the IA Show in San Antonio - have not changed their dates, given that they were already scheduled to be held right at the end of 2020; thus the EIMA show will actually take place from 11th to 15th November in Bologna and the IA Show from 30th November to 4th December in San Antonio, USA.
All of this information is, of course, subject to change, with the current global situation being uncertain and unstable. Irrigazette will do everything possible to keep you informed as quickly as possible about the changes and developments affecting the irrigation sector.