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Home to Agribusinesses in all domains of agriculture, Flanders, Belgium is a major R&D hub in Europe in the field of green biotechnology. In addition to the variety of agricultural firms, the presence of supportive scientific R&D is key to the thriving Agribusiness industry in Flanders. In this respect, Agribusiness in the region is intrinsically connected to other domains such as biotechnology, the biobased economy, life sciences, food science and engineering, harvesting technologies and more.

Green biotech in particular is one of Flanders’ long-standing strong suits, focusing strongly on consumer and industrial trends such as sustainability and eco-friendliness. Various organizations and research centers can help your business capitalize on these trends. Below are two prominent examples:

• VIB is one of Flanders’ strategic research centers and renowned worldwide for its groundbreaking life sciences and biotech research.
• Flanders.bio is the umbrella organization of Flanders’ biotech firms, research organizations and capital providers, and aims to stimulate biotechnological knowledge exchange and promote entrepreneurship.
• Flanders’ Food is a unique, strategy-driven platform for the facilitation of food pilots, aiming to create a more competitive, innovative and sustainable agrifood industry

When deciding to establish activities or headquarters in Flanders, your company can reap the rewards of:

• Government subsidies and support for investments in R&D and innovation, strategic transformation, ecological efforts, growth and other domains.
• Tax incentives to fund a broad range of business activities.
• Fiscal options to help you cut labor costs.
• Our tailor-made free assistance and guidance.

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If you are looking for quality, craftmanship and a standard of excellence, you will find it in Flanders, Belgium. And thanks to Flanders' location at the heart of Europe, its superb transport infrastructure and unique workforce, these products and services are delivered to you in no time. That makes Flanders the No. 1 export region in the world.

Flanders’ food industry is brimming with SME and export activities. Often, these companies work closely with Flanders’ government , universities and scientific institutes. Their geographical proximity and short lines of communication give rise to a flourishing, all-encompassing ‘food ecosystem’ that includes:

• Producers
• Suppliers
• Federations
• Knowledge centers

What ties them together is one common goal: to achieve the very best and most sustainable in terms of food production, safety, nutrition and quality. To this end, they collaborate – as part of the spearhead cluster Flanders’ FOOD, for example – and continuously share experiences, expertise and knowhow.

Food industry sales are around 10.9 billion euros on a yearly basis, based on the first half of 2021. There are several products that have the greatest potential in terms of consumer interest. Healthy foods, including those with less fat, less salt and less sugar, are in high demand. However, there is also a growing demand for quality foods such as chocolate, desserts and top-quality cheeses. Gluten-free products are also in relatively high demand, as are organic and natural products. Israeli food producers, importers, retailers and restaurants are adapting their product portfolios to meet the demand of a growing number of vegans, vegetarians and consumers sensitive to gluten.

AgFunder, the world's largest agricultural and food innovation information company, ranked Israel among the top five countries in the world in terms of innovation initiatives and breakthroughs in the sector by 2020. According to Startup Nation Central, these are the trends in which Israeli solutions are excelling:

• Smart Agriculture,
• Biotech and crop protection,
• Post-harvest and food safety,
• Supply chain and market linkage,
• Aquaculture and livestock production,
• Improved nutrition