Germany’s leading trade fairs company Messe Berlin has launched a major campaign in the Middle East to attract exhibitors and trade visitors to IFA 2005 (Internationale Funkausstellung), a global consumer electronics exhibition scheduled to be held in Berlin from September 2 to 7.

This year’s IFA is expected to bring together 1,000 leading exhibitors from around the world. IFA, a major event in Germany’s calendar of trade exhibitions, attracted 270,000  visitors during six days in 2003.
The volume of sales orders was 2.4 billion euros, according to Jens Oberheide, chairman of IFA’s media relations team. He was in Dubai recently to promote the exhibition.
“Nowhere you can find such high trade volumes. IFA is an excellent tool for exhibitors to introduce their products,” he says. The exhibition has increased 10 per cent this year compared with the event in 2003.
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director-General Abdul Rahman G Al Mutaiwee, welcoming Messe Berlin’s decision to promote IFA in the UAE, says “Dubai is a leading city for re-exports and there has been a rapid increase in imports and re-exports of consumer electronics.
Franz-Josef Dicken, deputy consul and head of mission of the German Consulate in Dubai, underlining the importance of trade exhibitions in promoting UAE-German trade, says the German government was encouraging participation of German companies in trade exhibitions organised in Dubai.
Dicken says potential UAE exhibitors and trade visitors could access the consulate website to gain necessary information regarding the German visa procedure.
According to him, the total bilateral trade between Germany and the UAE in 2004 was 4 billion euros of which German exports were valued at 3.5 billion euros. IFA has been divided into six segments for the clarity of presentation.
The upsurge in electronic appliance sales in Germany can be attributed to new digital technology and the diversity of new devices and services. These consist mainly of flat screen systems, new storage media such as DVD and hard disk recorders, digital television, both terrestrial and via satellite, MP3 devices, in-car navigation systems and storage media such as recordable DVDs.
According to Jens Heithecker, director of Messe Berlin, his company was looking to attract exhibitors, trade visitors and public visitors from Middle Eastern countries. At the 2003 fair, 26 per cent of the total visitors came from foreign countries.
Messe Berlin officials said the world’s leading brands could present themselves at IFA in an “original and creative way alongside their entire product portfolio.”
IFA provides “an excellent business forum for innovative manufacturers and specialised companies in the consumer electronics industry as well as representatives from related industries,” the officials say.
The exhibition categories at IFA are: television and entertainment; digital imaging and digital music: personal computing and games; personal communication; sound and care media; and satellite, networks and cable.
A daily highlight of IFA 2005 is the IFA International Keynote Area, where prominent industry officials, trade visitors and journalists receive exclusive access to leading minds from the consumer electronics industry. Every morning experts will be discussing topics covering a broad range of issues concerning the industry.