Food and Food Processing News

FHC boosts int'l food trade

SHANGHAI: China's largest imported food and drink expo held here is on a scale far larger than ever before.
The event aims to foster closer trade links between national importers and overseas suppliers.
The 10th Food Hospitality China (FHC) Exhibition, an international event with more than 800 participating companies and 30 national and regional pavilions from 38 countries, will last for three days, ending December 2.
Tapping into food and related industries ranging from hospitality, food service, bakery and retail equipment supplies, the exhibition covers an area 20 per cent larger than last year to accommodate some 30 per cent more exhibitors, of whom 95 per cent are from overseas.
Organizers said they expect many more visitors to this year's event, including purchasers from the hospitality industry covering hotels, bars, restaurants, catering importers and supermarket retailers.
Featuring quality trade visitors and industry professionals, the exhibition defines its uniqueness by balancing the sourcing needs and expert knowledge of the industry.
"If we want the food industry to continue its growth, we should make the industry more professional and efficient and adopt the best hygiene standards, so that China can quickly be seen as a culinary centre of the world, not just in Chinese food but also in international foods," said Brendan Jennings, general manager of China International Exhibitions Ltd (CIE), the organizer of the exhibition, who initiated the FHC exhibition in 1994 in Beijing.
Apart from the food and drink shows, the exhibition will offer a host of complementary activities including professional seminars touching on hot topics related to the food industry and culinary competitions incorporating a broad variety of cuisine flavours.
As the only city in the mainland chosen to stage the exhibition every year, Shanghai continues to attract attention from around the world, successfully promoting the city's image by proving its position as China's trading hub. Beijing and Guangzhou also host the exhibition every other year.
"With so many foreign companies located in Shanghai alongside its better customer sources and business assets, the city was made a sensible trading destination," he added. "Its location half way between Beijing and Guangzhou also helps connect the north and south and demonstrates the active role of the city as a trading centre."
Government statistics say that from 1996 to 2005, the average annual increase in Shanghai's import trade reached 23.69 per cent, far greater than the country's growth of 5 per cent.
"The volume of import trade is an index to consider while building Shanghai into a metropolis," Luo Zhisong, deputy director of the Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, told China Daily in an earlier interview.
"As a local brand of convenience store, it is a must for us to learn from the leading trends of the world industry," said Luo Jinsong, assistant to the president of Shanghai Buddies CVS Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Shanghai Liangyou (Group) Co Ltd.
"The exhibition provides a platform to meet top class suppliers from all over the world and access to approach the trendy products including snack foods, confectionery, instant foods and beverages, that most of our customers are targeting."
With more money in people's pockets and the increasing recognition of foreign brands, more imported foods are being laid on the shelves of Shanghai's supermarkets.
"We are looking at a great emerging market of imported foods, and the exhibition presents a rich variety of products and facilitates us to better serve our own customers," said Xu Hong, deputy director of administrative department of Shanghai Jiadeli Supermarket Co Ltd.