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
Marketing million trade visitors have expressed their confidence in the company. With a range of international trade shows, fairtrade goes innovative ways to connect emerging markets with solution providers from across the globe. Facilitating valuable business contacts between exhibitors and trade visitors – that is what fairtrade stands for. ISO 9001:2015 certified and a member of UFI The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, the exhibition expert strives for high customer satisfaction with excellent service and innovative products. fairtrade is managed by its founder Martin März and his son Paul, who joined the company in 2016, and builds on a highly motivated team of experienced and young professionals, many of them qualified in-house. At the opening event Paul welcomed the guests and partners: “The success of this major international event would be impossible without the close cooperation and strong support of our partners. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everybody contributing to this success, especially the Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia, but also including our Ethiopian coorganizer Prana Events, the official delegations, media partners and most of all the exhibitors and trade visitors. We wish many exciting talks resulting in valuable outcomes and excellent business.“ Conclusions My personal impressions of the exhibition were very positive. Many exhibitors were there for the first time, ready to test the waters of a growing continent. Ethiopia was seen as an excellent strategic location in East Africa which could act as a hub between Africa and the Middle East region. The food interests are similar in the geographically close areas. Ethiopia is seen as a very safe political center with a long history of agriculture, as well as food and beverage production. It is a large country with hard working people and a good infrastructure, especially through the international airport and with connections to many significant markets. Other companies were returning to the exhibition and are now making concrete plans to build a factory in the country, either full size or small scale, whilst others were seeking local partners to develop existing facilities. The atmosphere was very constructive and the exhibitor evening, in the middle of the show, was enjoyed by all exhibitors until late into the night. Local food and beer specialties and wine from the Rift Valley were served. The bottom line for me was that the country needs support in different sectors, especially in the soft beverage area such as juice processing; also sodas and water are popular, but also in bakeries and confectionery. As more women are now working to support their family’s economic needs, more to-go opportunities are arising, such as quick, processed foods – as healthy as possible – and even coffee shops. Ethiopia’s young people are embracing education and several students helped out hosting at the exhibition. They were optimistic about the future. Both male and female students shared a vision of their country being successful, with each of them having a part in this growth. The warmth they showed to visitors was underlined in the love they felt for their own country. If we take a look at the world’s needs, we recognize that there are many who are hungry, angry or alone. However, the people I personally met on this trip have shown an optimism, energy and strength to make something happen – and this attitude is encouraging and infectious. Africa may have many natural resources for agriculture and other industries, but the combination of its people with the long traditions and history really do give an answer for the world. fmt food Marketing & Technology • August 2023 41
