food Marketing - Technology 4/2023

Marketing
Agrofood Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, June 2023
by Ian Healey
I once heard a song about Africa
being shaped like a question mark. It
was about Africa having the answer
for many of the world’s needs. The
reasons for this included the innate
cheerfulness and positive thinking of
so many African people, together with
their unending warmth and welcoming
nature. In the food industry it is also
particularly true that Africa has a lot to
offer the world as a whole.
Following several other visits to Africa
and supported by a number of friends
from different parts of the continent,
I was glad to accept an invitation to
join the organizer fairtrade at the
5th International Trade Exhibition
on Agrofood, Plastics, Printing and
Packaging in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is a country in East Africa,
which covers an area of more than 1.1
million km 2 and which has a growing
population currently at almost 120
million people. It has great potential,
especially in the food and beverage
sector: not only does it have a large,
unexploited land area, but it also has
sufficient water and a predominantly
temperate climate due to its high
altitudes. Agriculture is the most
important industry, providing over
60% of employment and 76% of the
country’s exports. Of these coffee is
probably the most well-known and
is sometimes called “black gold“,
whereas water is known as “white
gold“. Cereals, spices, legumes and
other vegetables are also widely
cultivated, as well as teff, or dwarf
millet, which is a staple food for local
tastebuds. Nevertheless Ethiopia is
still a food importer, according to the
latest figures from the German VDMA
(Association of Mechanical and Plant
Engineering).
Rich in history and in resources
The exhibition was opened by
the Ethiopian State Minister of
Industry, His Excellency Mr. Hassan
Mohammed, at a high quality
opening event, with speeches and
greetings from Ambassadors and
Representatives of 12 countries.
His Excellency welcomed the
participants to Ethiopia and
underlined the richness of the country,
being so well blessed with natural
resources and a favorable climate and
hard working farmers. He promised to
improve the infrastructure, including
irrigation and to launch a charter to
resolve the financial struggles which
companies have been experiencing
as they look to import equipment and
machinery.
“Today we commemorate the
beginning of a new chapter, a chapter
that integrates agriculture, food
processing, packaging and plastics,
opening up limitless possibilities
for our people and our economy.
By bringing together stakeholders
from across the globe, agrofood &
plastprintpack Ethiopia serves as a
paramount platform to showcase the
immense potential of our nation and
foster collaboration. We are eager to
develop our agrofood & plastprintpack
industry in close cooperation with our
partners from around the globe.”
In total more than 130 companies
from 16 countries exhibited at the
event, which attracted over 4000
trade visitors from all over Ethiopia
and other neighboring countries.
There were National Pavilions from
participants from China, Germany,
India, Italy, Kuwait and Türkiye. The
Trade Event included a well attended
conference with topics such as
forming “Partnerships in Innovation
in Durum Wheat“, “Networking to
Strengthen the Ethiopian Beverage
Industry“ and “Corporate Due
Diligence in the Supply Chain“.
The aim of the event is to help develop
industry in Ethiopia and this region
of East Africa and create opportunity
and investment in food and beverage
technology. This will in turn create
jobs and help along the road of
self sufficiency. With 120 million
inhabitants (2022), which according
to the World Bank will rise to 200
million by 2050, Ethiopia has long
been the largest food market in East
& Central Africa. Expenditure in the
food and beverage sector is growing
steadily, and F&B production is by far
the largest segment of the Ethiopian
processing industry. Accordingly,
the demand for food and beverage
ingredients is rising continuously.
So it is only natural that more and
more leading international ingredient
companies took part in agrofood
Ethiopia.
A professional partner
Founded in 1991, fairtrade has long
been one of the leading organizers of
professional international agrofood &
plastprintpack trade fairs in Africa and
the Middle East. Over the decades,
more than 36,000 exhibitors and 1.5
40 food Marketing & Technology • August 2023