Preparations for Agritech 2009 - Israel's International Agricultural Exhibition - are well underway. In anticipation of the upcoming fair, scheduled for May of next year, a delegation of 40 journalists will arrive in Israel next month to meet with the directors of agricultural and water companies. The visit is being organized by the Israel Export Institute.
The visitors will tour Israel for three days, visiting leading agricultural companies such as Netafim, Ginegar, HaZera Genetics, Zeraim Gedera, and others, as well as the Research and Development Technological Greenhouse in Ramat HaNegev.
Among the visiting journalists will be print and TV media representatives from countries that are among Israel's best potential customers for exports of agricultural products and knowledge. These include China, India, Turkey, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, France, Ethiopia, South Africa, Brazil, Peru, Tanzania, Senegal, and others.
Agritech 2009 will take place in the Israel Trade Fairs and Exhibition Center in Tel Aviv, with 250 companies and research institutes from Israel and around the world expected to participate. Some 7,000 guests will visit, including 25 ministers and deputy ministers from around the world.
Agritech Director Danny Meiri says previous visits of this nature have helped the fair significantly. The international agricultural news reports that appeared as a result of the writers' visits, he said, were an important springboard for the promotion of Agritech and Israel's exports.
"The reporters themselves were very interested in joining the tour," Meiri said, "which is an indication of the great reputation that Israeli agriculture has throughout the world."
Agritech's website states, "Agritech Israel has become a well-known brand name for showcasing the worldwide reputation of Israel's agriculture. Agritech Israel is regarded as one of the most important agro technological exhibitions in the world, a fact proved by the thousands of visitors from around the world at previous exhibitions."