BUSINESS

US consul general tours FoodEx

November 16, 2017

Abdulaziz Hammad



Saudi Gazette

US Consul General Matthias Mitman and Agricultural Attaché Alan Hallman toured ‘FoodEx Saudi 2017’ and met with distributors of US products. They highlighted the nutritional value and quality of US food, during the opening of FoodEx event in Jeddah, on Sunday.

It is reported that in 2017, US agricultural exports to Saudi Arabia are expected to exceed $1.5 billion.

Hallman noted: “There continues to be strong interest by Saudi consumers in US products, including condiments and sauces, cereals, and tree nuts.”

Hallman added: “We are also witnessing the re-entry of key products, such as beef, to some parts of Saudi Arabia.”

‘Foodex Saudi 2017’ is the biggest food exhibition in the Kingdom. FoodEx provide the opportunity for many high skilled international food retailers to enter the Saudi market. Many companies from the United States, Spain, Pakistan, Brazil,Turkey, Italy, and Bulgaria particiapted.

There’s a remarkable European presence of 600 brands representing 32 competing countries to attract Saudi importers. The exhibition displayed a total number of 214 exhibitors. Many food products are displayed in the ongoing FoodEx such as fruit juices, sunflower seeds, honey, meat beaf, rice, olive oil and more.

One of the participants in FoodEx Luiz Eduardo, the director of international trade at “Josapar” a Brazilian Rice Company, expressed his happiness at attending and said: “Saudi Arabia is a very important market for rice. We are here because we produce a high quality rice. We are a very old Brazilian company, established 95 years ago, which by Brazilian standards is considered a very old company. We are the market leader brand in Brazil. We produce 600,000 tons of rice per year, so it is a huge operation, and we hope to establish ourselves in the Saudi market.”

Eduardo added: “This is our first year here in ‘FoodEx Saudi 2017’ we are already selling rice to Saudi Arabia. It is a very important market for us. I think next year we will be back again at the ‘FoodEx Saudi’ event because we are gaining new contacts here. At FoodEx we would like to achieve more clients and increase our sales in the Saudi market.”

Another participant from Bulgaria, Stoyen Zhulev, who sells Bulgarian agricultural products said: “Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia have good economic connections. So we decided to come and see the opportunities. I think ‘FoodEx Saudi 2017’ is a very good exhibition with very interesting customers. There is a lot of interest for our products and we hope to get good results.”


November 16, 2017
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