Italy featuring as partner country for the first time in 40th edition of AAHAR 2026

Featuring as the partner country for the 40th edition of AAHAR 2026 – The International Food and Hospitality Fair for the first time, Italy is highlighting the growing India-EU collaboration in food processing, gourmet foods, and hospitality technologies and opening new avenues for international partnerships and trade engagement.

Organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in association with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, AAHAR has, over the past four decades, evolved into one of the most influential trade exhibitions for the food processing and hospitality ecosystem in Asia.

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The AAHAR 2026 was inaugurated by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital.

The five-day international exhibition will showcase innovations across key sectors including food products and beverages, food processing and value addition, food processing and packaging technology, hospitality technology and infrastructure, food-grade packaging solutions, cold chain and refrigeration technologies, and export promotion and global trade linkages.

Addressing the gathering at the inauguration of the Fair, Goyal welcomed Italy as the partner country for the 40th edition of AAHAR and said that India should learn from best practices in Italy’s food and hospitality sector while also building collaborations with Italian companies.

The Minister pointed out that Europe represents a major market for agricultural and processed food imports, especially with new trade arrangements that provide near-zero or very low duties on many Indian products.

Addressing the gathering, Goyal further said, “For the first time AAHAR has a partner country, Italy, and also announced that the exhibition will be opened to the general public on the evening of Friday the 13th and throughout Saturday, allowing visitors, especially young people, to experience the strengths of the food, beverage and hospitality sectors from India and across the world.”

The five-day international exhibition, which will conclude on Saturday, has brought together food producers, exporters, hospitality businesses, technology providers, industry associations and global buyers on a single platform to explore new partnerships and business opportunities.

AAHAR 2026 will feature over 1,800 exhibitors, including 155 international participants from 17 countries, and is expected to attract more than one lakh business visitors during the five-day event.

Meanwhile, in a separate event which was on plant based foods, Rajit Punhani, CEO of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), stressed the importance of food safety, regulatory clarity, and innovation in emerging food sectors such as plant-based products. The 4th Plant Based Foods Summit, organised by the Plant Based Foods Industry Association, reaffirmed the need for collaborative action between government, industry, academia, and international partners to accelerate innovation, build supportive policy frameworks, and position India as a leader in the global plant-based foods movement.