Alimentaria 2014 to be even more international

ALIMENTARIA, Spain’s international food and beverage exhibition, has already embarked on its journey around the world to identify and open up new foreign markets for exhibitor companies at its next edition in 2014. To be held 31 March to 3 April, Alimentaria is focusing its international promotion activities in Latin America, North America and Asia, which have a great deal of growth potential for agri-food exports.

To date, Alimentaria's organisers have held meetings with distributors, importers and associations in Japan, the U.S.A., Dubai and Mexico. The search for buyers will soon continue on to China, Brazil and France, as Europe continues to be a favoured destination.
J. Antonio Valls,  the managing director of Alimentaria Exhibitions, notes that at this edition is committed to internationalisation in order to strengthen the sector's focus on international expansion and help participating companies gain access to new markets. The main aim of the show is to "present the scale and potential of agri-food market exports to international agents," said Mr Valls.

At Alimentaria 2014, it is anticipated that the number of international buyers will increase and more than 8,000 business meetings will be scheduled between exhibitors and professionals from visiting delegations from 60 countries.  
At its previous edition in 2012, the number of foreign visitors to Alimentaria rose 11%, attracting close to 40,000 professionals from 143 countries, primarily in Europe, Latin America and Asia. However, the show's international presence is also measured by the country of origin of its exhibitor companies. At the next event, 32.5% of nearly 4,000 companies expected to participate will be from abroad.  
Promotion at international trade shows
Promotional activities have led Alimentaria to participate in leading international trade shows such as Gulf Food (Dubai), Prowein (Germany), Alimentaria & Horexpo Lisboa (Portugal) Alimentaria México and the upcoming Summer Fancy Food in New York, where it will share a stand with Culinary Collective, the leader in gourmet product distribution.
In Mexico, a delegation from Alimentaria has met with purchasing and import managers at major supermarket chains and gourmet retailers, including Palacio de Hierro, Liverpool, City Market-Comercial Mexicana, Cheldraui, Walmart, Sam's Club, La Europea and La Divina. Contact has also been made with the National Wholesale Grocers' Association (ANAM in its Spanish acronym), National Association of Importers & Exporters of the Republic of Mexico (ANIERM in its Spanish acronym) and Proméxico to arrange visits from trade missions to the next edition of the Barcelona trade show. Brazil, Colombia and Peru are also target countries for promotional activities and meetings with industry associations, importers and supermarkets.
Larger Japanese presence
Japan is a major importer of Spanish food and beverages, primarily oil, meat, wine and gourmet products. Taking advantage of the Spain-Japan Dual Year celebrations – beginning this June and commemorating 400 years of exchange between the two countries – Alimentaria is working on various projects to increase the Japanese presence at the show.
Japan's supermarket association will be organising a visit by a delegation of buyers, who will take part in Alimentaria's Hosted Buyers Programme and present a seminar on the retail sector in their country. In addition, Japan's wine and spirits importers and meat buyers associations haveNike Air Max Plus