JEDDAH, 9 May 2004 — Deputy Agriculture Minister Abdullah Al-Obaid will officially inaugurate the Food & Hotel Arabia expo at the Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Center today. This biennial event is the ninth edition for food, beverages and catering, hotel equipment, supplies and services being held concurrently with Propac Arabia — a massive event focusing on production and processing, printing and packaging, plastics and chemicals.
Companies from 25 countries taking part in the expo have come from Australia, with one exhibitor, Bahrain with one, Belgium with two, China with a huge 27, Croatia with two, Cyprus with eight, Egypt with five, France with one, Germany with four, Greece with two, India with 12, Iran with three, Italy and Lebanon with two each, Malaysia with 11, Pakistan with seven, Spain, Sri Lanka and Syria with one each, Taiwan with a record 29, Thailand with 20, Turkey with 10, the UAE with three, the UK with two and one company from the United States. The Kingdom itself is represented with 43 leading companies offering a wide spectrum of products and services.
“The exhibition is designed to complement the flourishing vital sectors of food, beverages, catering, hotel equipment, supplies and services, production, processing, packaging plastics and chemicals,” a spokesman for the organizers, Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions Ltd., said yesterday.
The exhibition features a “Top Chef Arabia” competition, which has been a highlight of the event since 2002. The contest, which pits international chefs against one another, is sponsored by UBF Foodsolutions. The expo, exclusively designated for businessmen, traders and decision-makers, will run from 5.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. daily up to Thursday.
