PARIS, FRANCE — The Women in Agribusiness Summit Europe, which was scheduled to take place March 9-10 in Paris, has been postponed due to the global coronavirus outbreak. It is now scheduled to take place July 2-3 at the Les Salons Hoche in Paris.

Joy O’Shaughnessy, chief operating officer for HighQuest Group (parent company of Women in Agribusiness) and event director for Women in Agribusiness initiatives, explained that while the decision was a difficult one to make, “due to an abundance of caution and concern for the welfare of all of our event participants in regard to the threat of the coronavirus, we felt it was best to postpone the event.”

O’Shaughnessy conferred with sponsors, speakers and attendees, as well as reviewing recommendations from the World Health Organization, before announcing the postponement.

“When the three top sponsors instituted travel bans making attendance impossible for them, the decision became clearer,” she said. “We are grateful for the support and collaboration among our participants regarding this decision and look forward to welcoming the Women in Agribusiness community to Paris in July where they can expect in-depth industry insight, detailed outlooks of the agri-food issues in the sector, and boundless opportunities for networking.”

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 95,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,200. As of March 4, France had reported 257 cases, including four that had died.