Visitors at Vietfood & Beverage - ProPack exhibition 2015 (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – The Vietfood & Beverage - ProPack international exhibition opened at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on August 10 with the participation of 420 enterprises from 20 countries and territories worldwide.
As many as 500 booths at the event are displaying a wide range of products with many of Vietnam’s strength such as tea, coffee, fresh and packed seafood, vegetables, fruit, and confectionary.
Vietnam has the largest number of firms attending the event, including big names such as Saigon Beer, Ha Noi Beer, Vifon, Vissan and Duy Tan Plastics, followed by China with 46 enterprises, the Republic of Korea with 30 firms, Taiwan (China), 23 and Poland, 10.
Opening the event, Ho Thi Kim Thoa, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the annual event, which was first held in 1996, has become a meeting venue for domestic and international businesses to exchange information and seek partnerships, thus boosting the growth of Vietnam ’s food and beverage and packing industries.
She also suggested that food and beverage firms pay more attention to the packing industry to meet customers’ higher demands in tracing food origins.
In 2015, the beverage sector contributed 34.5 trillion VND (15.6 million USD) to the State budget and created jobs for more than 500,000 labourers.
According to Nguyen Van Viet, President of the Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association, a number of conferences will be held in the framework of the four-day exhibition, aiming to seek ways to boost the sector’s growth.-VNA
