How can agricultural exhibitions gain attraction?

On October 26th, China Agricultural Exhibition Development report (2015), the first development report of agricultural exhibition in China, was released. On the basis of summarizing the development process and current situation of agricultural exhibition in China, the problems and challenges of agricultural exhibition were systematically analyzed, the advanced experience of foreign countries in promoting the development of agricultural exhibition was used for reference, and the role of the government in the development of agricultural exhibition was accurately located. And then put forward policy recommendations to promote the sustained and healthy development of agricultural exhibitions, our reporter interviewed the report drafting group of the Ministry of Agriculture on issues of concern to everyone.

Q: why are agricultural fairs more dependent on government support than other industry fairs? What is the role of the government?

A: the particularity and development status of China's agricultural exhibition determine that the government is the most important factor in its development process. Compared with other industry exhibitions, agricultural exhibitions are more dependent on government support because of their stronger public service attributes. Considering the official and semi-official identities of most trade associations, the public service platform of "government setting up the stage and enterprises singing" is and will continue to be the main body of the agricultural convention and exhibition industry. At the same time, local governments at all levels should also take the initiative to actively adjust and change their roles, speed up the cultivation of the exhibition market, and guide and give full play to the basic regulatory role of the market, so as to further promote the reform of the exhibition, strengthen the management of the exhibition, and highlight the actual effect of the exhibition. we will promote the connection between the production and marketing of agricultural products and serve modern agricultural production and circulation. The roles and functions of the government are mainly reflected in: overall planning, bringing agricultural exhibitions into the circulation system of agricultural products; strengthening management, constantly optimizing the market order of exhibitions; increasing support to promote the development of exhibitions and exhibitors.

Q: nowadays, some agricultural fairs are very popular, one is hard to find, while more agricultural exhibitions are deserted, and the booths are "zero price". Why?

A: after years of development, China's agricultural exhibition market as a whole is becoming more and more mature, and most exhibitions have changed from the cultivation period to the growth period. A number of agricultural exhibitions with obvious characteristics of marketization, branding, specialization, internationalization and informatization have emerged. Such as "China (Yangling) Agricultural High-tech Achievement Fair", "China International Fisheries Expo", "China International Flower and Horticulture Exhibition", "China (Shouguang) International vegetable Science and Technology Fair", "China International Agricultural products Fair", "China Animal Husbandry and Feed Industry Fair" (later renamed as "China Animal Husbandry Expo") and so on.

The popularity of these exhibitions is due to the continuous improvement of their operation level and the continuous enhancement of their specialization. The exhibition operation mainly includes two parts: exhibition and investment promotion. With the development and wide application of information technology, more and more agricultural exhibitions have introduced modern information means such as Weibo, Wechat official account, online registration of exhibitors and visitors, on-site access control system and other modern information means in their operations. it not only provides convenience for enterprise exhibitors and visitors, but also expands the exhibition publicity scope and enhances the exhibition effect. At the same time, with the help of modern information technology, these exhibitions carry out more professional and meticulous pre-exhibition organization, during-exhibition service and post-exhibition tracking, providing more accurate and personalized services to exhibitors, and the professional service level of the exhibition has been improved accordingly.

With the rapid growth of the agricultural exhibition, there are also a series of problems, such as the mismatch between supply and demand, the market mechanism has not been brought into full play, the main body of the exhibition is not perfect, the concept of running the exhibition is biased and so on, which restrict the healthy and sustainable development of the agricultural exhibition. Specifically, there are the following problems: first of all, there is a structural imbalance between supply and demand, which restricts the function of the exhibition. On the one hand, professional exhibitions, characteristic exhibitions and brand exhibitions are in short supply; on the other hand, comprehensive exhibitions, general exhibitions and low-level exhibitions are in oversupply. Secondly, the exhibition market mechanism is not perfect, and the allocation of resources needs to be optimized. At present, the market mechanism of agricultural exhibition is not perfect. The exhibition held in some places also continues the operation mode that the government budget allocates funds and even the government directly participates in the exhibition, which leads to the inefficient operation of the exhibition. In addition, due to the influence of a large number of similar activities, repeated exhibitions, and enterprises' limited awareness of specific exhibitions in the same period, the problem of attracting investment in agricultural exhibitions is still widespread. Third, the main body of the exhibition is not professional, and there is a shortage of exhibition professionals. Agricultural exhibition professionals are not only insufficient in total, but also generally low in quality. In addition, due to the low profitability of most agricultural exhibitions, it is not only difficult to attract high-quality exhibition talents, but also restricts the training and improvement of existing employees. Fourth, the exhibitors' audience is uneven, and the exhibition culture needs to be cultivated urgently. The main exhibitors of agricultural exhibitions in China are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in agricultural production and management, and their market development awareness and ability are generally weak, which often leads to poor exhibitors. At present, most agricultural exhibitions are open to the public free of charge, objectively resulting in more ordinary audience than professional audience, most of the audience just look around the booth, see a lively. This not only directly affects the environment of trade negotiations, restricts the effect of exchange and negotiation among exhibitors, but also reduces the efficiency of organization and coordination of organizers, and increases the difficulty of exhibition management and services.

Q: in the new normal of economic development, government functions

Under the circumstances of changing into the fast lane, what are the new challenges facing the development of agricultural exhibitions, and how to maintain the sustained attractiveness and brand effect of agricultural exhibitions?

A: at present, the development of the industry is indeed facing certain challenges. "Transformation and upgrading" has become the primary key word of China's agricultural convention and exhibition industry. In the past, agricultural exhibitions, which were dominated by the government, will gradually move towards marketization and specialization. Specifically manifested in: the transformation of government support, some agricultural exhibitions under greater pressure of development; agricultural products market circulation foundation is not strong, restricting the active development of agricultural exhibitions; the influx of foreign exhibition giants, aggravating the market competition in the exhibition industry. Therefore, effective strategies and measures must be taken.

In the light of the actual situation and opportunities and challenges of China's agricultural exhibitions, drawing lessons from international successful practices, we should guide, support and standardize agricultural exhibitions in a planned and targeted manner, and strive to cultivate brand exhibitions. To give full play to the functions of agricultural exhibitions in promoting agricultural production and promoting trade development, we should start with the following work: to cultivate the exhibition market and improve the efficiency of government management and support. Keep up with the pace of the industry, organically combine agricultural exhibitions with agricultural development; integrate resources of all parties to support agricultural brand exhibitions to become bigger and stronger; strengthen professional training to provide talent protection for the development of agricultural exhibitions.