The Saudi food, hotel, hospitality & Propac Arabia show held recently in Jeddah was a huge success in terms of deals, according to exhibitors. "For us it was a very positive event because "The number of inquiries we have received from both local hotels and the trading community is very encouraging," said Dieter Fiebelkorn, Kaechele's general manager. He noted that Saudi Arabia's market is a great potential for Europeans and they always look forward to take part in such events in Saudi Arabia in order to interact with many interested parties here in Saudi Arabia. Speaking on behalf of the Indonesian pavilion, Suwoto Gino Santalib, Deputy Director of Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) at the Consulate General of Indonesia in Jeddah, said: "Most of our participants are new although we have been setting up pavilions at this show for many years. All of our participants feel hugely rewarded with not only the number of visitors inquiring about their products, but also multi-million riyals deals they are hopeful of transacting through this show." Turkey, which had 20 companies exhibiting at the show, was full of praise for the annual food & hotel arabia and Propac Arabia. Ahmet Bakis, International Sales Director of Istanbul-based SENEXPO, said: "From the deals we have entered into or in the pipeline, I must say this is a market with huge potential and we are gear up to implement the signed deals here in Saudi Arabia." Tawhid Al Saffy, Director at the Embassy of US Agricultural Trade Office in Riyadh, speaking on behalf of six American companies exhibiting at the show, said processed meat, canned foods and honey were among the items of the exhibiting companies who were satisfied with innumerable inquiries. "Local traders showed keen interest in these and other products at the US pavilion, including wheat, soybean, rice, fruit and vegetables." He added that the Saudi-US bilateral trade has increased from $721 million in 2009 to $1.33 billion now. One of the American exhibitors introduced organic food products. "In fact, a couple of our exhibitors are examining the prospects of having joint venture food processing plants here. Negotiations are under way for producing poultry products and also for finding agents or distributors for US food items here," he said. Zahoor Siddique, Vice President for Exhibitions, ACE, the show organizers, said "it was a tremendous event because the show was a turning point for most of the exhibitors in their business as they struck many lucrative deals running into millions of riyals with local partners." The show incorporated TopChef & Art de Table, jointly organized by ACE and Saudi Arabian Chef Association, which featured culinary skills of chefs from the finest hotels and restaurants and adjudicated by a panel of international experts. The competition drew crowds of women and professionals on all the four days. Adding to the attraction was "Art de table," an impressive table displays by leading hotels and restaurants. The event also enjoyed the support of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Islamic Center for Development of Trade with Royal Host as the Main Sponsor and Fakieh Group as the strategic sponsor. __
