07 March 2018
Published also in Business Mirror
GLOBAL buyers are up for an exciting showcase of the Philippines’s premier seafood and other food segments in the International Food Exhibition (Ifex) Philippines, the country’s biggest export-oriented food show, from May 25 to 27 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Organized by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Mission (DTI‐Citem), Ifex Philippines 2018 will stage its first special edition featuring “The Best of the Seas,” focusing on the fast-growing seafood market in the Philippine regions and other Asian countries.
“Now an annual event, Ifex Philippines continues to be the largest and widely anticipated food trade event in the country,” said Nora K. Terrado, DTI undersecretary for Trade and Investments Promotion Group and Citem officer in charge.
“For its 12th edition, we will highlight the Philippines’s finest seafood to satisfy the growing global demand for marine product and coastal cuisines, along with other exquisite food products across the globe,” Terrado said.
As one of the official business events during the country’s hosting of Asean in 2017, last year’s Ifex Philippines opened more trade opportunities and innovations around the world with the showcase of the Philippines’s best and overseas participation of the European Union (EU), China, South Korea, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and other countries.
The three-day event was attended by nearly 11,000 international and local visitors, including 2,057 high-profile trade buyers from top global retail giants and supermarkets. These buyers came from different regions across the globe, such as Europe, China and SARs, Middle East, East Asia, America and Southeast Asia.
For its 12th edition, the Ifex Philippines will excite buyers with the country’s top and emerging food-export companies to promote Philippine food products and strengthen links with buyers, importers and retailers in the global market. Meanwhile, the event will also put up an international hall to host the top seafood and nonmarine products of leading companies and manufacturers from other participating countries.
Making a flavorful splash in its seafood edition, Ifex Philippines will also stage the Regional Seafood Pavilion, a regional showcase of world‐class seafood products and ingredients locally sourced from the coasts and diverse marine environments across the Philippine archipelago.
“We are tapping the country’s most marine-abundant coastal regions from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. This is where we will bring key suppliers to make it easier for buyers to source in one pavilion the best fish and marine products, such as tuna, milkfish, prawns, tilapia and other seafood from the Philippines,” Terrado said.
The Coastal Culinary Cuisine will then complete the culinary journey in a dynamic presentation of the Philippines’s most iconic and distinct regional seafood cuisines from top international and local experts to give an exquisite experience of the country’s heirloom flavors and traditions.
The marketplace is also open for a one‐stop retail experience of premium food products ranging from seafood products, fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, processed foods, homemade regional delicacies and many more.
For those wanting much more inspiration and adventure, visiting buyers and exhibiting companies can also attend export and investment seminars to get new ideas and updates on the latest regulations, trends and innovations in the food industry from renowned experts, researchers, lecturers and members of academe.
The 12th edition of Ifex Philippines is supported by the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Interested companies/exhibitor may contact Alex Lucas at 831-2137, or send an inquiry at alucas@citem.com.ph.