The 47th edition of EIMA International, taking place at the Bologna Exhibition Centre from 10 to 14 November, was presented at the ICE headquarters in Rome. The international standing of this event, which attracts visitors from 150 countries, is further strengthened. The number of business operators selected by ICE for the special programme of business-to-business meetings has risen to 830. Economic and political issues are also in the spotlight, with events dedicated to emerging economies and the European political agenda. Simona Rapastella: “EIMA is in tune with new marketing requirements and allows for the ‘tailor-made’ planning of business meetings”.
A world-class event, an effective platform for exploring new business opportunities. This the 47th edition of EIMA, the international agricultural machinery exhibition that will take place at the Bologna Exhibition Centre from 10 to 14 November, will be a global event.
The market landscape for this sector is highly fragmented and uneven – as explained during the press conference held this afternoon in Rome at the ICE headquarters – and this leads manufacturers to operate selectively in those countries and contexts that prove most receptive. “To facilitate the ‘matching’ of supply and demand for technologies, the exhibition is expanding its international scope,” said Simona Rapastella, Director General of FederUnacoma – the Confindustria federation representing the agricultural machinery sector and organiser of the exhibition – during the conference, “and is rolling out specific initiatives for foreign businesses by strengthening the system of business-oriented services”.
There will be 650 foreign exhibiting companies at EIMA 2026 – out of a total of 1,800 already confirmed – representing 45 countries. The number of foreign visitors is expected to rise compared with the previous edition (2024), which recorded over 63,000 attendances from 150 countries, out of a total of 350,000 attendances; whilst a very substantial increase in the number of official delegations of business operators organised by ICE and FederUnacoma has already been confirmed. ICE offices around the world have, in fact, selected specialist delegates who will be at the Fair during the first three days of the event, with a programme of business-to-business meetings with manufacturers, already planned on the basis of operators’ interest in specific product categories.
This year, the ICE delegations comprise 830 trade visitors from 120 countries (compared to 450 from 85 countries in 2024), who will take part in no fewer than 14,000 business meetings, with access to a specially designed pavilion within the Bologna exhibition centre, offering interpreting services and assistance with contractual matters. In parallel with the ICE project, FederUnacoma has organised the ‘Special Guest’ hospitality scheme, reserved for around 1,000 industry professionals not included in the official delegations. The EIMA exhibition thus serves as a tool for monitoring the market, forecasting trends in demand, and establishing commercial relationships in a selective and targeted manner.
The entire exhibition is designed to offer – even in an unfavourable economic climate – endless opportunities for industrial and commercial collaboration. “EIMA is in tune with the new demands of marketing and promotes a ‘tailor-made’ approach to business management,” added Simona Rapastella, “but it also takes account of the macro-economic context, to focus on the variables that may influence the agricultural machinery sector; and the political context, which is crucial both for the development of sectoral strategies in different parts of the world and for identifying financial instruments that can support investment in the coming years”.
An entire section of the EIMA exhibition – known as EXTEND – has been designed to host public institutions, professional associations and the organisations that make up the agri-food and agro-industrial supply chains. The conference programme – previewed during the conference – will feature many events focusing on the specific situations of individual countries and different geographical areas. Of particular note is the conference on the theme “Drought in African agriculture: economic and social costs”, organised by FederUnacoma and Internationalia, which aims to describe the current climatic and environmental emergencies facing the African continent and to analyse the repercussions these may have on the economies and social systems of many countries.
Another significant event is the Italian-Indian Day – organised by FederUnacoma, Ficci, ICE and Maeci – which includes a conference on the theme “Europe-India: the agricultural machinery markets within the free trade area”. Also highly topical is the conference on the theme ‘Latin America: the trade landscape under the Europe–Mercosur agreement’, promoted by FederUnacoma and focusing on analysing the potential of the Latin American market for the agricultural machinery sector, as well as on how to access the various countries.\
The 35th Meeting of the Club of Bologna, entitled ‘Agricultural Technologies for Emerging Countries’, also has an international scope. It dedicates a first session to mechanisation in Africa, a second session to technologies for conservation agriculture, and a third to systems for optimised water resource management. This latter topic is closely linked to the climate emergency, which is causing alarm amongst the international scientific community and the productive sectors.
The meeting entitled “Agriculture and Agricultural Mechanisation: the Brussels Agenda. Key Issues for the Committees. Technical and Political Aspects”, organised by FederUnacoma and led by members of the delegation of MEPs attending the event, is focused on political issues such as the new Common Agricultural Policy and the relationship between the European system and other world economies were of particular significance. An event presenting a survey on the opportunities and challenges in the use of machinery by women farmers – carried out in collaboration with the women’s representatives of professional agricultural organisations – will be of both technical and social interest.
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