Alimentaria's most international edition closes with record Catalan participation

Alimentaria 2026 has confirmed the show as one of the main meeting points for the European agri-food sector, with a clear focus on generating commercial opportunities and raising companies' international profile. Held from 23 to 26 March in Barcelona, it closed with 109,600 professionals, 25% of them international visitors from 120 countries, and more than 3,300 exhibiting companies.

The edition, coinciding with the show's 50th anniversary, stood out for the increase in international participation and business activity, with 14,500 business meetings between companies and buyers.

Strong presence of the Catalan agri-food sector

Catalan participation played a significant role within the show as a whole, with broad representation from companies across different subsectors. In total, more than 220 companies took part in the fair, around a hundred of them under the Prodeca umbrella, which once again organised the group presence and helped raise the profile of Catalan businesses.

Through the shared spaces and promotional activities, the profile of agri-food Catalonia was strengthened, highlighting the diversity of products, the quality and the export capacity of the sector. This participation forms part of Prodeca's approach of encouraging a structured presence at international trade fairs as a key tool for companies' marketing and internationalisation.

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One of the central pillars of Catalan participation was generating international business contacts. Companies were able to build relationships with importers, distributors and buyers from strategic markets, taking advantage of both the meetings organised by the fair and their presence at the show, supported by Prodeca.

Taking part in Alimentaria therefore helps advance market diversification and the consolidation of trading relationships, especially for SMEs and micro-enterprises, which make up most of the Catalan agri-food sector.

The fair also featured a strong institutional presence, with visits from the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Òscar Ordeig, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, who toured different areas of the show with the director of Prodeca, Dèlia Perpiñà, and met participating companies directly. 

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The President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, took part in the official opening on the first day of the fair, accompanying King Felipe VI and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, reinforcing institutional support for the agri-food sector and recognising its role as an economic driver for the country.

Strategic knowledge and collaboration with ACCIÓ

At Alimentaria 2026, a sector report produced by ACCIÓ and Prodeca was also presented, positioning the Catalan agri-food sector as one of the country's main economic drivers, with a turnover of €57,981M, equivalent to 18.3% of GDP. The study highlights the sector's structural strength — with more than 177,000 people employed — and its export potential, which reached a new record of €16,903M in 2025, as well as growth in emerging areas such as alternative protein and the startup ecosystem.

The commercial potential of the halal segment, discussed at Alimentaria

The Catalan presence also extended to themed spaces such as the 4th International Halal Congress, which hosted various sessions and round tables on business opportunities in markets such as Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Spain. This space highlighted Catalonia's role as a European hub for halal food and the growing importance of this segment worldwide, with more than 2 billion potential consumers.

The congress showed how the sector is evolving, especially in meat, towards a more diversified offer that goes beyond traditional products and takes in new categories. In this context, the halal segment is consolidating as a lever for international growth, driven both by rising purchasing power in Muslim markets and by the perception of the label as a guarantee of quality, opening up new opportunities for Catalan agri-food companies.

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Closing with an eye on the future

The close of Alimentaria 2026 consolidates the fair as a benchmark tool for the internationalisation of the Catalan agri-food sector, both for its capacity to generate business and for its role as a space for relationships and knowledge.

Prodeca would like to thank the Catalan companies for taking part, and for their involvement in an event that helps strengthen the sector's international profile. Looking ahead to the next edition, scheduled for 2028, the sector faces the challenge of continuing to grow in value, expanding its international presence and consolidating Catalonia as a significant player in global agri-food trade.