Food companies may use fair to enter Chinese mart

The trade fair will be held at the International Exhibition Centre of China National Demonstration Base of Food Industry in Huangpu Town, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, China, from Oct 12 to 14.

Huangpu Town mayor Wang Hanlian said the trade fair provides an opportunity for local and foreign food enterprises to promote and display their latest technologies and products in food manufacturing, packaging and marketing.

�We expect to have more than 400 domestic and overseas renowned food enterprises from over 30 regions taking part in this trade fair.

�It will be full of business opportunities; domestic foodstuff enterprises will have access to the international market, while the international enterprises to the China market,� he told Malaysian journalists at a press conference in Huangpu recently.

The first trade fair last December attracted over 100 buyer groups from Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia, Wang said.

�We had four Malaysian food enterprises joining the exhibition last year, and we expect to have 10 this year,� he said, adding that it expected the total trading volume during the three-day fair to increase from RMB600 million (RM275 million) last year to RMB1 billion.

Wang said Huangpu, being the only place in the country identified by the Chinese government as the demonstration base of the food industry, would have competitive business environment and preferential policies for overseas enterprises to operate there.

He said Huangpu would leverage on the existing 10+3 partnership between Asean countries and China to attract more investors to the emerging industrial town. Huangpu, with a permanent population of 100,000, is an 850 year-old town located in the central hinterland of Pearl River Delta in South China.

It is one of the industrial satellite towns of Guangdong Province, supported by a three-pillar industry system, namely raw industrial material, especially metal, hardware and electrical home appliances, and preserved meat.

Last year, the 300 food enterprises in Huangpu generated a total output of about RMB3 billion, accounting for 30% of the town�s total industrial output of RMB10 billion. Huangpu has the world's biggest air-conditioner manufacturing plant, owned by Galanz Enterprise (Group) Co, an original equipment manufacturer of air-conditioners and microwave ovens.

Wang said the trade fair would also highlight the French Food Day, which will see a buyer group of more than 30 food distributors and agencies from France and other European countries attending the fair. This will create opportunities between the French food industry players and China, as well as the Southeast Asian countries.

On the upcoming Malaysia International Food and Beverage Trade Fair, which will be held from July 13 to 15 at the Putra World Trade Centre, Wang said about 10 companies from China would participate in the event.

He said some food enterprises in Huangpu were exploring the possibilities of venturing into the halal food market in Malaysia, and eventually using Malaysia as the gateway to enter the Middle East.

Meanwhile, China Food Industry Demonstration Base Development Co Ltd director Wen Zhiming said it spent over RMB3 million annually to carry out R&D in the demonstration base for foodstuff quality inspection and testing.

He said foreign enterprises could opt for better rent-and-buy offer in terms of setting up a factory in Huangpu, and could apply for various loans and enjoy either exemption or reduction in income tax.

The demonstration base, with a total area of 667ha, houses various enterprises involved in foodstuff manufacturing, food packaging and food machinery.

For more information on how to register as exhibitors or visitors to the trade fair, contact Asiaport Trading at 012-220 8318 (Mr Chan).