LARGEST F&B EVENT IN ASIA COMING SOON
CITEM leads a delegation of 10 food companies that will offer tropical selections of healthy and natural food products at FOODEX Japan 2021, the largest food and beverage event in Asia
On 9 March 2021, the Philippine delegation of 10 food companies, led by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), is set to showcase the best of healthy and natural food products in FOODEX Japan 2021.
“Well before the pandemic, the Japanese have always had healthy eating habits, with the rest of the world now catching up,” Suaco-Juan noted. “We’re glad to offer to the world our tropical selections, grown on our country’s distinct terroir, which offer a new and flavorful component of wellness,” she added.
The physical show in Chiba, Japan ends on 12 March, but exhibitors and buyers will be able to interact through online meetings and chats on the FOODEX online platform until 8 October this year.
The 2019 edition of FOODEX saw the participation of more than 3,000 exhibitors. Over 80,000 visitors and trade buyers, hailing mostly from Asian, European and African countries, joined the trade show. In the same edition, the Philippine delegation generated $45.5 million in sales, far exceeding the $17.9 million target of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The following year, the trade show was cancelled due to the pandemic.
FOODEX will take on a hybrid format comprising physical and digital components, with the Philippine participation being fully digital given pandemic-related restrictions.
As FOODEX returns this 2021, the Philippine participation will be fully digital, in view of travel restrictions and public health measures. Nonetheless, the companies under the FOODPhilippines banner will aim to generate $14.5 million in final sales from this year’s trade show.
“Despite the difficulties we are facing, we’re confident that the Philippine delegation for FOODEX will be able to sustain the country’s position as a premier food sourcing destination,” DTI for the Trade Promotions Group Undersecretary Abdulgani Macatoman remarked.
“After what’s sure to be a successful showcase of the Philippines’ finest food products, we look forward to these companies returning to IFEX Philippines,” the DTI official added. The 10 food companies participating in FOODEX 2021 will also showcase their products in one of CITEM’s flagship events, IFEX Philippines NXTFOOD Asia, the country’s homegrown platform for sourcing quality food products. Through IFEX Philippines, local and international companies have the opportunity to tap the rising global demand for premium and quality food products from different regions across the globe, including North and South America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia and many more.
As a response to the increasingly digitized nature of trade, CITEM has also developed an online food-sourcing platform, foodphilippines.com, which features Philippines’ leading and emerging sources of healthy, organic, natural and specialty food products and services.
The Philippine participation in FOODEX 2021 is spearheaded by CITEM, in close coordination with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Japan.