SPACE 2013 will be held from Tuesday 10 September to Friday 13 September at the Rennes Airport Exhibition Centre.
An exceptional 27th year
With four months still to go, all the signs are for a highly successful 27th Fair which promises to be quite exceptional.
Already in 2012, SPACE had the largest area of exhibition in its history. This year, this record will be beaten again as, at mid May, more than 1,200 exhibitors have registered for stands, about a hundred more than this time last year.
These exhibitors have booked 59,543 m², 5,500 m² more than in May 2012. It is now certain that some applications will have to be refused. Exhibitors who have forgotten to register by the deadline and who send in their applications now may well find that there is no more space available.
However, this year’s SPACE fair is being held in difficult circumstances for animal production in France, especially in the poultry, dairy and pig sectors.
French livestock farmers and food producers are faced with two major handicaps which severely affect their ability to compete:
- The difficulty, even impossibility, of passing on the increases in production costs, in particular animal feed, in their selling prices, given pressure from supermarkets.
- Social dumping by certain European and non-European countries with labour market, fiscal and environmental policies enabling them to produce at lower cost and increase their market share, world-wide and in France.
This is the situation about which the pig farmers are now complaining. They are demanding that French pork should be promoted and that prices should be increased by €0.30/kg, in the same way that dairy farmers achieved an increase of 3 centimes per litre.
This is also a cause of concern for the French poultry industry. Despite maintaining its status as the leading European producer, the French market is increasingly being flooded by imported products, which account, for example, for 40% of chickens eaten and 87% of standard chickens used in the catering trade.
However, there is considerable pressure to modernise livestock farms to make them competitive as international markets open up in the medium and long term to meet the increasing food needs of a world population that will reach 9 or 10 billion.
Requests for more space and increased satisfaction
This explains why many suppliers to farmers who have applied to exhibit at SPACE 2013 have asked for more space to extend their stands, sometimes by a significant amount.
This tendency is particularly noticeable in the fields of equipment for cattle farms
(milking equipment and food distribution equipment) as well as poultry equipment (SPACE 2013 sees the return of several international exhibitors who specialise in equipment for producers of egg-laying hens, who were not present in 2012). There is, therefore, great potential for capital investment, despite the current difficulties.
Exhibitors confirm the high level of satisfaction they expressed at the end of SPACE 2012, with an average score of 6.8 out of 10 (39% gave a score of over 8). 92% of exhibitors in 2012 considered that SPACE was a trade show of high quality and 73% considered that it was an essential part of their sales strategy.
SPACE has, therefore, become established as the world’s 2nd largest animal production show (second to EUROTIER). All feedback from France and around the world confirm this reputation.
Of the 1,211 exhibitors registered on 15 May, there are 990 direct exhibitors (100 more than in May 2012), including 155 new, 172 co-exhibitors (including 22 new) and 49 represented firms. There are 355 exhibitors from abroad (60 more than in May 2012).
This major increase confirms the attraction of SPACE in France and abroad.
Trade visitors from France and abroad
Visitors were equally satisfied. In 2012, they gave SPACE an average score of 7.6 out of 10, 61% of scores being over 8. 99% considered SPACE to be a high quality trade show.
The satisfaction of foreign visitors was even higher than that of French visitors: average score of 8.2 out of 10 with 81% of scores over 8.
These high levels of satisfaction and the promotional campaigns we are running in France and the rest of the world, should increase the number of trade visitors to SPACE in 2013 to more than 100,000.
The number of international visitors (over 10,000 in 2011, and over 11,000 in 2012) should also increase. We have extended our network of representatives abroad (43 in 35 countries, as well as 23 travel agencies), in particular in Africa and South East Asia.
These areas of the world are strategic development regions for SPACE and for its exhibitors. Large delegations will be coming from these areas, for example from the West African Economic and Monetary Union and from China.
A packed programme and new features
The popularity of SPACE as the meeting place for all those in the animal production industry is illustrated by the large number and the quality of the conferences and seminars organised during these four days. Most of the slots are already reserved.
SPACE has established itself as the place for discussion, contact and the production of new ideas.
New products from exhibitors will again be highlighted by operation INNOV’SPACE, which is always a great success among exhibitors (who consider it a powerful means of promoting products they are presenting for the first time) as well as visitors (who are always looking for improved technology and profitability in their businesses).
This aim can be found in the Research and Development village, dedicated for the second consecutive year to buildings and equipment of the future, this year focussing on the poultry and pig sectors (the cattle sector was featured in 2012).
A Breed Event of world-wide renown
This continuous progress in research will be demonstrated at the Breed Event within SPACE 2013, whose international renown is spreading from year to year (the comments by the Italian judge of the 2012 Challenge France Prim’Holstein were particularly favourable).
The livestock presentations and the competitions, which include 700 cattle, sheep and goats, are being held again this year to give a better picture of the various breeds and illustrate the changes in animal selection made possible by genomics.
Once again SPACE 2013 provides a comprehensive, varied overview for livestock farmers and suppliers in France and throughout the world. It will once more be the greatest meeting place for livestock farmers.