Vietnam Foodexpo 2018 opens in HCM City

HCM City (VNA) – The Vietnam Foodexpo 2018, the biggest of its kind serving the agro-fishery and food industry in Vietnam, kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City on November 14.

Hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the expo features 600 booths operated by 450 enterprises from 31 Vietnamese localities and 23 counties and territories around the world.

Exhibitors are introducing fruit-based products, beverages, food materials, processed foods, and food processing machines.

Vietnam Foodexpo 2018 has attracted the participation of many notable national and international brands in the food industry, such as Phu Thinh Food, Sa Giang, Ben Tre Coconut, Satra, Vissan, Thien Huong Food, and PAN Group.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai highlighted the strong development of Vietnam’s food industry over the last two decades, saying that it has recorded great changes in production, business, and exports.

Many Vietnamese products have gradually shifted from raw exports to deep processing, while their brands have also been developed, thus conquering many export markets in the world, he said.

Vietnam Foodexpo 2018 is an international trade promotion event for the local food industry, with agricultural and seafood products in particular, and is the largest of its kind in the country, Hai noted.

The organisation board has focused on arranging many practical activities to share the trend of production, business, and global market, towards helping businesses orient their activities to meet consumer demands, he added.

Hai said the ministry highly appreciates exhibitors of foreign countries like the Netherlands and Italy for their active participation in the event, and expects these units will bring attractive products as one of the expo’s highlights.

The event  also welcomes a great number of visitors, especially those from Vietnam’s  key export markets such as the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, the US, France, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Thailand.

Elsbeth Akkerman, the Netherlands’ Ambassador to Vietnam said experts from her respective nation’s Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority will share their experience in applying information technology in agro-food trade, in developing and improving food supply chains, and in managing food safety.

During the four-day event, there will also be the Vietnam Food Forum 2018, a seminar promoting investment in the food processing industry, and an international cooking event, among others.

The expo will open for commercial guests during the first three days and for all visitors on the final day. –VNA