Saudi Arabia’s Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions Ltd has announced it will stage its expo for the food and beverage industry and the related processing and packaging (Propac) sector every year from this year.

 The company said it was prompted to reschedule the comprehensive show following strong demand from the participating industries.
This year the kingdom’s international event for food, beverages, catering, hotel, equipment, supplies and services will be held from May 1 to 5 at the Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
“Held in Jeddah, the hub of the Saudi food and beverage industry, the new annual exhibition will not only continue to provide a platform for new products to the market but also enable suppliers and buyers to react quickly to changes within the market and consumer tastes,” an Al Harithy spokesman said.
“With the ever-popular ‘Top Chef Arabia’ competition once more taking place during the exhibition, food/hotel/propac arabia 2005 will again prove to be truly a rare medium.”
The 2005 exhibition is already on schedule to exceed the 2004 exhibitor and visitor statistics, he said.
“2004 saw a record 400 Saudi and International companies represented on 250 stands, with individual and national participation by Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and the USA,” the spokesman said. 
“Similarly, the 11,421 registered visitors, from across Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf States, constituted a new milestone in attendance, with professionals from a variety of trades, including chefs, catering and fast food managers, food and beverage managers, food processing and production specialists, government and public sector officers, manufacturers, traders and distributors, and warehouse and storage supervisors.”    
The spokesman replayed comments made by exhibitors to show the exhibition had become a major event in the food and beverage industry’s calendar.
 Mongkol Somkanae, director, Thai Trade Centre: “I am very pleased with the interest in our products.  Our Thai fruit promotion stand was very effective in gaining awareness of Thai fruits through testing and sampling by visitors.  The show has assisted us to expand our market share, especially in fresh fruit imports.  More trade professionals visited this year and there were many potential deals.”
Rola Hariri, executive manager of Jeddah-based Badih Hariri Est: “I met officials of many companies that are suppliers for the hotel industry and secured several orders.  I am very happy with the interest in our gift amenities.  In the next exhibition our participation will definitely be bigger.”
Linda Sun, Taiwanese group leader: “All our 29 exhibitors sold their machines and equipment on display on the first day of the exhibition to a value in excess of $1 million.  Many of them have secured orders totalling in excess of $2 million with a potential of several million more to come.  My group was delighted with the response and we are looking forward to come back with a larger participation in 2005.”