Show Review - Thaifex – World of Food Asia 2009 sees surge in foreign visitors

There was a visible surge in the number of visitors at Thaifex-World of Food Asia held in Bangkok, Thailand in May this year. Show organizer Koelnmesse reported some 21,101 trade visitors over three days, with overseas visitors from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the US.

“With a greater number of overseas trade visitors and the shift in their interests from buying from China to Thailand, we are seeing more high profile buyers from Thailand and overseas. We have the same number of exhibitors as in 2008 but the show registered a 40% increase in visitors in 2009. The increase in visitors could also be a result of the absence of shows such as Food & Hotel Asia, SIAL China and Food & Hotel China,” Michael Dreyer, Asia Pacific VP of Koelnmesse, told Asia Food Journal and members of the trade press at a media briefing during the show.

Thaifex-World of Food organizer Koelnmesse says the show registered a 40% increase in visitors in 2009.

“Thailand’s Department of Export Promotion has also supported Thaifex with their visitor fly-in programs, where delegations from countries such as the US and Australia are flown into the country, thereby boosting the internationality of the show.”

“Despite the economy, we have more marketing and publicity of our events. We conduct seminar programs geared towards improving the quality and integration of events among exhibitors.”

Entering the regulated markets

Exhibitors at the show did not show the impact of the economy on their business, as consumption remains the foundation of food trade, said Dreyer. “More Asian manufacturers are producing more quality products as they work towards exporting to European markets. Thaifex exhibitors for example are growing towards producing products that are organic and certified”. Halal-certified products could be the boom for the region, where there are 1.5-1.8 billion Muslims in Asia. “The population in the region is gaining in income and they have the ability to eat and live according to religious standards. Halal-certified products are also fueling such a trend in the US and like kosher certified products, they are considered as clean, quality food.”

There was a small but growing presence of food processing, machinery exhibitors. While they occupy smaller booths with less elaborate designs, Dreyer said the company “would like to increase processing and manufacturing space at Thaifex”.

“Manufacturers may hold off investments as current machines remain functional. However, it makes business sense by having a food show and a food processing show concurrently under one roof.”

Michael Dreyer, Asia Pacific VP of Koelnmesse.

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Visitors enjoy a Q&A session with industry players from Thailand’s seafood sector.