For three days, the Egyptian capital Cairo was dominated by food and packaging: the Food Africa and pacprocess MEA trade fair duo took place there from 5 to 7 December. As organiser, the interpack Alliance is fully satisfied.
According to the organisers, it was the most successful Food Africa in its history and a pacprocess MEA on course for growth: after an economically challenging year, the interpack alliance trade fair duo generated numerous positive impulses and business deals. A total of 25,821 visitors from over 60 countries came to the Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo from 5 to 7 December, to find out about innovations and trends and, above all, to expand their contacts in Africa and the Arab world. They met 738 exhibitors from 32 countries as well as 14 country participations and joint stands. This corresponds to an increase in visitors of over 60 per cent and an increase in exhibitors of around 70 per cent compared to the previous event.
„The impressive development of the event, but also the atmosphere and the discussions on site, once again emphasised that Africa and the Middle East are an attractive destination for many companies. Those who are not here are missing out on opportunities. The integration of Food Africa into our portfolio has a signalling effect. We are thus offering a unique platform for access to the African mega-market for food,“ said Thomas Dohse, Director of the interpack Processing & Packaging portfolio at the end of the three-day event. Food Africa has been part of the interpack alliance since the end of 2021 and is jointly organised by Messe Düsseldorf and its partners IFP Egypt and Konzept.
This year, Food Africa once again offered a comprehensive picture of all sub-sectors of the food industry and agricultureProcessed food, dates, seafood, fresh products, herbs and spices, packaging and processing technologies.
The topics covered at the accompanying conference ranged from global market developments such as digitalisation and sustainability to region-specific content. For example, the national strategy for the Egyptian date industry was presented at Food Africa, which is of great importance to the country and which is facing increasing global demand.
Food Africa and pacprocess MEA also stand for the targeted networking of trade buyers with the exhibitors on site. The Hosted Buyers Programme proved to be particularly valuable again this year, which was attended by more than 500 participants from 63 countries. In this way, new trade relations were specifically promoted.
114 exhibitors presented themselves at the third edition of pacprocess MEA, which was specially tailored to the local market and mapped the value chain of the packaging and related process industries. Here, too, a positive conclusion emerged after three days.
„With this year's event, we have taken the next step into an important growth market,“ says Thomas Dohse. „We will continue to strengthen pacprocess MEA in order to offer the industry ideal conditions, to gain a foothold in this exciting region. We consider the parallelism with Food Africa to be crucial, as is the cooperation with our local partners.“ The synergies of the trade fair duo are numerous, as all decision-makers come together in one place.
In 2023, Food Africa and pacprocess MEA will once again take place in Cairo in December.
Source: interpack Alliance
