A flood of eager visitors.	African and Chinese merchants talking business.	Opening ceremoney of the 2006 Food Expo.

Ningbo, a booming city of commerce and harbor business in southern China’s Zhejiang Province, has been selected as site of the China Food Expo, due to open from November 9 to 12, for the third successive year. This gala catering and food industry event, attended by domestic and international businesses, is testament to the development of its host city’s convention and exhibition industry.

Outstripping Predecessors

The China Food Expo is the largest and most significant of its kind in China; it has been dubbed the "Olympics of China’s food industry." As more than 20 cities contend to host this event, Ningbo has consistently raised the standards necessary to suceed. Liu Mengjin, head of Ningbo Municipal Trade Bureau, accredits the city’s success to its dynamism and advantageous location. Ningbo has proved beyond doubt its capability of taking this event to new heights of success.

Scale: There were 2,060 stalls at the 2005 expo and the exhibition floorage increased to 50,000 square meters. The 2006 session provided 2,200-plus stalls and an exhibition floorage of 55,000 square meters.

Participants: The last two sessions were attended by leaders of both national and provincial governments and senior officials of relevant ministries. The expo received 16 provincial and municipal delegations in 2005, and 33 in 2006. The number of participating firms at the event also rose from 46,200 in 2005 to more than 60,000 in 2006. The Summit Forum, at which renowned experts and senior officials in relevant fields give lectures, is an exclusive feature of the Ningbo sessions. It is regarded as the highlight of the expo.

Products: The 2005 and 2006 sessions displayed more than 30,000 kinds of products in 11 categories from 1,400 and 1,600 enterprises respectively, including almost all famed brand names in China.

Visitors: The expo attracted 156,000 visitors in 2005 and 200,000 in 2006, surpassing all previous sessions.

Transactions: The expo reported transactions valued at RMB 4.21 billion in 2005 -- 20-fold that of the previous year, and of RMB 5.36 billion in 2006. This enormous growth is attributable to lavish purchases by international retailer giants such as Carrefour, Metro, Auchan, Trust-Mart and Tesco. One of them signed an agreement to increase its Chinese buying by RMB 738 million.

Media Coverage: More than 200 media organizations sent representatives to the expo both in 2005 and 2006. More than 1,000 news articles and reports on the event, and Ningbo itself, subsequently appeared.

Incorporating New Ideas

Innovative thinking is key to the success of every Ningbo-hosted Food Expo.

The Food Expo is themed on food safety and development of the food industry. Ningbo has introduced five concepts to its Food Expo in addition to conventional items featured in similar events. Its aim is to showcase main brand names, new products and the latest technologies in China’s food and related industries.

Cultural Flavor: The focus of the expo is to promote the craftsmanship involved in preparing traditional Chinese food and dishes and to promote Chinese food culture, including the sub-culture native to Ningbo. To this end, the expo’s emphasis is on technical advances in Chinese food production and processing.

Green Rule: The expo is only open to green enterprises and products that are environment friendly, as per international practice. Ningbo is regarded as being at the cutting edge of the national drive to ensure food safety and healthy eating.

Creativity: The expo encompasses foods native to various parts of China and those synonymous with various ethnic groups. The idea is to give as comprehensive a display of China’s food culture as possible. Emphasis is also laid on the merging of Eastern and Western cuisine in order to meet increasingly diversified consumer tastes.

Trademark Sense: The expo has the advantage over its rivals as regards its reputation for attracting the top players in China’s food industry. In its 2005 and 2006 sessions up to 70 percent of participants were famous brand name enterprises, including almost all of China’s Top 100 catering and foodstuff corporations. Their presence endorses the expo’s status in the field, and draws transnational buyers.

Win-Win Deal: The expo is a win-win deal for both suppliers and buyers. It is a platform for both parties to circulate commodities and information, as well as to establish reciprocal partnerships.

Open Mindset: The theme of the past two, as well as the upcoming, Expo Ningbo session is of making the event a bridge for exchanges between China’s and the world’s food and related sectors. The ripple effect of the expo on the catering and food industries, service and circulation sectors is expected to promote restructuring of these industries, stimulate consumption, and eventually transform China’s pattern of economic growth.

Great Expectations of the 2007 Session

It is always a challenge to maintain, never mind exceed, past successes. Ningbo, however, is confident of taking the 2007 Food Expo to greater heights.

The sponsors of the 2007 session are the Ministry of Commerce and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. The supporters are the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the State Food and Drug Administration. The organizers are the Ningbo Municipal Government, China General Chamber of Commerce, China National Light Industry Council, and Zhejiang Provincial Economic and Trade Commission. The executive organizer is Ningbo Municipal Trade Bureau. Thanks to concerted efforts of all parties, the onerous preparation work for the expo is proceeding according to schedule.

The organizing committee has vowed to make new breakthroughs in every aspect of the expo, as regards the size of exhibition areas, transaction values, number of exhibition stalls, participating delegations, enterprises and their products, and security. An elaborate plan has been formulated to invite enterprises and experts and to arrange business activities. During the lead-up to the expo many international big names have sent inspection teams to Ningbo to make preparations.

The 2007 session face dual obligations --- to unfurl the distinctive traits of China’s food industry and to represent the highest level of development of Chinese and international food industry.

It will cover the sectors of raw foodstuffs, food processing machinery, food packaging, aquatic, meat and dairy products, alcoholic beverages, seasoning, confectionery, special or refined agricultural products, time-honored products, and aviation food, among others.

The upcoming session will give greater prominence to environment-friendliness, food production safety and healthy eating. Officials and experts from around the world will speak and hold discussions on the latest food industry trends and its projected development.

Greater prestige, higher efficiency and more substantial results are vital if the expo is to survive and flourish. The expo is a channel whereby food producers, processors and dealers worldwide may build contacts and interlink the food production and distribution processes. It also plays a significant intermediate role between Chinese and transnational enterprises; it gives Chinese enterprises the chance to learn world advanced techniques and managerial expertise that will take China’s food industry to a fresh level of development.