Hong Kong-based Food Expo Sets Attendance Record; Wine, Spirits Fair Also on Tap in November

August 23, 2011

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s Food Expo broke attendance records in its 22nd year, with 380,000 visitors coming to the five-day fair, a 3-percent increase, compared with the 2010 event.

The show was held Aug. 11-15 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and exhibitor records also were broken at this year’s event, according to HKTDC officials.

The Food expo included the new Gourmet Zone, which featured premium food and processing products from around the world.

The products included Belgium handmade chocolate, French ice cream, Spanish ham, Indonesian Kopi Luwak coffee and Malaysian wild-fish bladder. In addition to food tastings, several star chefs demonstrated special dishes.

“Food Expo, a signature Hong Kong summer event, has been well-received by residents for years,” said Benjamin Chau, Deputy Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

He added, “This year, given rising inflation, the special discounts offered by exhibitors helped attract visitors. In addition, the concurrently held Hong Kong International Tea Fair and the ICMCM, organized by the HKTDC and the Modernized Chinese Medicine International Association, also helped attract buyers and visitors.”

Chau said several exhibitors utilized the Food Expo to test consumer response to products. “Riding on this success, the Council will continue to improve the expo, ensuring that it remains an ideal trading platform for the industry,” he added.

The HKTDC hopes to continue its success when the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair runs Nov. 3-5, also at the HKCEC.

This year’s partner country will be Italy, which exported wine to the value of $20 million to Hong Kong in 2010, an increase of 45 percent, compared with 2009.

Some of the exhibitors signed up for this year include ASC Fine Wines (Hong Kong) Trading Corporation Limited, Altaya Wines Limited, Jebsen and Company Limited and Jointek Fine Wines (Hong Kong) Limited, to name a few.

A few of the organizations that have confirmed delegations include Consejo Federal de Inversiones from Argentina, Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico from Italy, New South Wales Government from Australia, ProChile, ViniPortugal, Wines of South Africa, and from the United States, the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and Southern US Trade Association.

Last year’s wine fair attracted more than 14,000 visitors on its ‘open day’, proving the growing popularity of wine consumption in the region, according to HKDTC officials.

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