Six years after the last amazing in-person event on the Greek seas, WPTC is inviting everyone associated to the global tomato processing industry to gather in the fascinating city of Budapest for the 15th World Processing Tomato Congress and 17th International Symposium on Processing Tomato on 9 to 12 June 2024.
After a long gap, due to the covid-19 pandemic forced WPTC to postpone, and then move online, the congress which was due to take place in San Juan in March 2020, the Budapest congress will bring together processors and business professionals working in the processing tomato industry with growers, academics, researchers and students in the unique setup which has been a major success story ever since the first world processing tomato congress in Avignon (France) in 1989 and the creation of WPTC in 1998 at Pamplona (Spain).
ORGANIZERS
The congress is jointly organized by UNIVER, a major food processor and the largest tomato processor in Hungary, and the World Processing Tomato Council (WPTC) in partnership with the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) for the Symposium, and with the technical assistance of Budapest based Diamond Congress.
LOCATION
The congress will be held in the Hilton Budapest hotel, one of the Hungarian capital’s most iconic hotels. In the heart of the Buda Castle District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the splendid hotel offers its guests breathtaking panoramic views of the Danube both from their rooms and from the bars and restaurants, and flexible space for events, including a 13th-century Dominican monastery Courtyard which will be used for the welcome reception. The magic continues as you step outside the hotel. With its cobbled streets in the shadow of Buda Castle, Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion, this is an area of Budapest that will steal your heart forever…
PROGRAM
A comprehensive program is currently being prepared by the organizers in cooperation with WPTC members, but the outline is:
- Registration will start in the afternoon of Sunday 9 June with an AMITOM and a WPTC board meeting and a welcome reception in the Dominican Courtyard of the Hilton hotel.
- Congress and Symposium sessions will take place all day on Monday, 10 and Tuesday, 11 June and in the morning of Wednesday, 12 June. The program of presentations and roundtable discussions is currently being prepared by the organizers in co-operation with WPTC members. If you have any suggestions for topics or speakers, please contact us.
- A gala dinner-cruise will take place on the Danube in the evening of Tuesday, 11 June, with welcome drinks on the roof of the boat, watching the sunset followed by a sit-down dinner with entertainment.
- A full program will be organized for spouses and accompanying persons to discover the city sights during the congress sessions.
- An optional post-congress tour will visit to a model farm and tomato factory in Kecskemét in the afternoon of Wednesday, 12 June, followed by a farewell dinner.
SPONSORS AND EXHIBITORS
The program also offers ample opportunities for sponsors and exhibitors to promote their company to a targeted audience and give them additional networking possibilities through a range of sponsorship packages, offering wide exposure in congress communications, exhibition space, exclusive sponsorship of the welcome reception, the gala dinner, the conference bag, presentation of videos during breaks and many more.
Companies can also sponsor promising scientists under the age of 35 to come and present their research during the Symposium under the Adopt a Scientist scheme. Four grants have already been funded thanks to The Morning Star Company and we hope several more will be supported.
Contact us to join the companies which have already committed or are in the process of doing so or discover all the options on the conference website at
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS
Scientists are invited to send their abstracts to present their research during the Symposium before Wednesday 10 January 2024, and send their application to benefit from one of the grants if they qualify.
REGISTRATION
We invite you to register early to take advantage of the early-bird rates until 29 February 2024, and to book your hotel rooms as soon as possible, especially if you want to enjoy a river-view room at the Hilton Hotel or if you prefer to stay in one of the alternative hotels nearby where we do not have guaranteed room-allocation. Budapest is currently a very popular tourist destination in Europe and June a busy period.
Over the next few months, we will post additional information about this unmissable event on the congress website.
We look forward to seeing you in Budapest!
The Organizing Committee
Contacts about the congress, registrations and sponsorship:
Attila Varga, Diamond Congress at diamond@diamond-congress.hu
Gabor Palotas, Univer, at gabor.palotas@univer.hu
Contacts about the Symposium:
Sophie Colvine & Gabor Palotas at symposium@worldtomatocongress.com