“Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: a bridge between Italy and Hungary”. This is the bilateral workshop that brought together Italian and Hungarian producers of medicinal and aromatic plants to explore new opportunities for cooperation. The event took place in recent days in Budapest and brought together university research, institutions and operators in view of Spices&Herbs Global Expo, the exhibition dedicated to spices, medicinal and aromatic herbs scheduled for Macfrut 2025 (6-8 May at the Rimini Expo Centre). The meeting was organized by Macfrut and Fippo (Italian Federation of Medicinal Plant Producers), with the logistical support of the ICE Agency of Budapest.

The morning was full of high-quality information, with the contribution of Professor Emeritus Akos Mathe , of the University of Budapest and pillar of knowledge in the sector, who opened the discussion on the future perspective of the sector. Zoltan Czirbus of Gysz, the Hungarian association of producers of medicinal plants, illustrated the production situation in the country, a reality that boasts a long history not only in the production but also in the cultivation of medicinal plants. The president of Fippo Andrea Primavera presented the salient elements of Italian production, which with a market value of one billion euros, is the third most important country in Europe in the consumption of raw materials from medicinal plants.

Luigi Bianchi and Cecilia Marzocchi of Cesena Fiera, presented the characteristics of the Spices & Herbs Global Expo that will be held within Macfrut from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 May 2025 in Rimini, which is shaping up to be the ideal place where the topics discussed during the day can find adequate moments of in-depth analysis and effective implementation in a business logic.

Following this, two Italian companies, Agri Evra and Sana Pianta, introduced themselves with their activities, inviting the Hungarian companies present to return the visit to Italy. The final remarks were made by Giovanna Chiappini Carpena , director of the ICE Office in Budapest, the Agency that will coordinate the presence of a Hungarian delegation at Macfrut 2025.

“The elements of challenge in the sector, presented by the speakers in this workshop, turned out to be surprisingly convergent if not even overlapping,” explained Primavera at the end of the event. “They have brought to light a situation of epochal change in the sector that requires urgent measures from all elements of the supply chain. Contamination, the disappearance of the practice of spontaneous harvesting, the shortage of manpower, the impact of the cost of energy and the broader consequences of the war, the regulatory excesses of European rules, the need for research and last but not least, a market that demands more and more product and with increasingly higher quality”.

The mission in Hungary also included a visit to the Budakalaszi research centre, founded way back in 1914, testifying to the very long Hungarian tradition in research in the sector, and which today continues in the work of studying the world of medicinal plants with the ancient passion but using some of the most advanced methods in the sector.
The visit to Hungary ended with important bilateral meetings with representatives of some of the main entities in the fruit and vegetable sector, including the Budapest Wholesale Market and FruitVeB (Hungarian Interprofessional Organization of Fruit and Vegetables).