Presented at MAPA the 12th edition of ASTURFORESTA
Tineo and its Mount Armayán will once again shortly be the forestry capital of the Iberian Peninsula.
José Manuel Jaquotot Sáenz de Miera, Deputy Director General of Forest Policy, as host, greeted the personalities and professionals from the sector who attended the presentation and thanked the Tineo City Council for organizing ASTURFORESTA, as well as its official presentation at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
THE ONLY INTERNATIONAL FORESTRY FAIR IN SPAIN
ASTURFORESTA is an international fair, recognized by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. The only international forestry fair held in Spain.
The event, which has a budget of close to €290,000, will take place between June 20 and 22, and hopes to exceed 200 brands represented and 15,000 visitors.
“ASTURFORESTA is the largest event that takes place in the forestry sector in Asturias and our main showcase to show ourselves abroad-introduced Dictinio Belloso Uceda, Head of the Forestry Service in the Government of the Principality of Asturias-, thanks to the work of the three administrations involved; the local (which carries the weight of the organization), plus the regional and state, which we collaborate financially and support in everything we can. And PROFOAS -Asturias Forest Owners Association- is in charge of organizing the technical conferences complementary to the exhibition”.
In Tineo the technological advances of the sector will be presented, and the market situation will be known, nationally and internationally. The incorporation of ASTURFORESTA as a full member of the Forestry Demo Fairs, an international non-profit organization that houses the elite of world forestry fairs, has been an important milestone in its development.
ASTURFORESTA collaborates closely with the Portuguese fair EXPOFLORESTAL.
THE MOUNTAIN
ASTURFORESTA was born in 1995 and is facing its twelfth edition this year. “The choice of Mount Armayán was right -considers Dictinio Belloso-, because 24 years later, there we are still. We conditioned the enclosure with the help of TRAGSA, with firebreaks and a circular route. The fair has grown, both in terms of exhibitors and visitors, and has been directed, correctly, by different teams. All this with absolute respect for the mountain”.
Mount Armayán is a public forest, with productive activity. Certified and with a Forest Management plan for more than five years. Located in a council with a marked forest character, with 14,760 hectares of Communal Forests of Public Utility. It is owned by the residents of five towns: Barredo, Moñedo, San Antonio, San Esteban de Relamiego and La Prohida. Organized around a neighborhood council. The ownership of the mountain and its representation are held by the Tineo City Council. “It is a productive forest, which works wonderfully,” says the Head of the Forestry Service in the Government of the Principality of Asturias.
Private owners also produce in Asturias. Progressively organized around the figure of the Membership Mountains. Especially on the coast, with the eucalyptus. Inside mainly with pine.
The fire has left sad memories throughout the Narcea region. A large fire recently burned a part of Mount Armayán. It did not affect the fair, it was reduced in its limits. But discouragement spread in the group of private owners, fully affected. All of this will be discussed, and a lot, at ASTURFORESTA.
THE ENCLOSURE
ASTURFORESTA is held in a privileged environment; a 45-hectare fairground, adapted to the needs of the exhibitors, which allows demonstrations to be carried out in real time; one of the great attractions that the fair has.
The main protagonists of ASTURFORESTA are the manufacturers and distributors of vehicles and machinery. Of the entire forestry production chain; from large processors, chippers or balers to chainsaws and cutting tools, through portable sawmills. “Machinery, equipment and services on display are the most cutting-edge in the sector at a European level,” says Marcos da Rocha Rodríguez, Director of ASTURFORESTA 2019.
“For this edition, we have carried out an important improvement action, expanding the exhibition space, allowing a more accessible and spacious circular route, which enhances the effort of the exhibitors and contributes to the enjoyment and comfort of the visitors”.
TECHNICAL SEMINARS
As in past editions, the exhibition and demonstrations of machinery will be complemented by technical conferences that will be held in the conference tent. There, important topics will be discussed, such as the weight of the forestry sector in the rural world, the depopulation of rural areas, the threats that affect our forests, the advances resulting from research, the exploitation of forests, forestry associations and their potentialities, climate change and the actions to be carried out to improve our forests, among others.
Round tables will be held to analyze the situation of the forestry sector, or the optimization of uses, news on plant health and the universe of biomass.
COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES
Other novelties in the 12th edition of ASTURFORESTA are, on the one hand, the celebration of the first meeting of forestry entrepreneurs in Spain, with the assistance of important commercial firms at a national level. Similarly, and in collaboration with ASTUREX (Society for Foreign Promotion of the Principality of Asturias), the organization is preparing a commercial mission of Moroccan businessmen related to the sector, who would visit the fair and meet with local businessmen, in order to Establish potential business relationships.
The first forestry innovation tournament “Startup 4 Wood” will also take place within the framework of ASTURFORESTA 2019: Challenges for entrepreneurs and businessmen for the forestry and wood industry, organized by ASMADERA (Asturian Association of Wood and Furniture Forest Entrepreneurs). ), in collaboration with ASTURFORESTA, the Chamber of Commerce and Caja Rural de Asturias, whose prizes will be awarded at the fair itself. “This initiative arises with the aim of highlighting and publicizing innovations in the forestry industry and giving visibility to the venture at an international level, contributing to the modernization of the sector,” explains Marcos da Rocha.
NEW COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS
ASTURFORESTA grows, and also enriches its wide network of collaborators. Thus, with a view to the imminent 12th edition, the fair has signed collaboration agreements with the following entities; all of them capitals in the forestry sector:
- ASEMFO – National Association of Forestry Companies
- COSE – Confederation of Forestry Organizations of Spain
- FEEF – Spanish Federation of Forestry and Natural Environment Companies
- UNEMADERA – Business Union of Wood and Furniture of Spain