JEDDAH — Investment opportunities and partnerships worth SR20 million were among the key ingredients that concluded this year's 20th edition of Food, Hotel and Hospitality Arabia 2015 exhibition at Jeddah Center for Forums and Events. The exhibition, held under the patronage of the Saudi Minister of Agriculture, attracted more than 15,000 visitors from around the Kingdom. Zahoor Siddique, Vice President of Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions (ACE), said: “We are delighted that the exhibition has continued to foster growth in the Saudi market and play a key role in offering real opportunities for companies new to the country.” Several global exhibitors and new players to the food industry said they achieved positive results during the four-day event, dubbed as one of the region's largest food and hospitality event. Speaking about their participation, Amin Biurka from Turkey said as he was getting ready to close his stand: “We have had an overwhelming response and the caliber of visitor to our stand has been excellent. We conducted around many meetings with new customers and customers are asking more and more questions, and they are conscious of price.” Visiting the exhibition to stand on the latest kitchen tools, Manal Al Hamdan said: “It is the perfect platform for housewives to see the latest cooking equipment and at the same time to learn more about the healthy eating habits from the international chefs who are participating at the Top Chef contest.” The exhibition gathered more than 350 local and international companies from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, Cyprus, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and USA. Running concurrently with the big event, 500 young chefs took part of the Top Chef Contest and the Art Table Competition which attracted many visitors. On the other side, the 8th Exhibition of Agribusiness Industries of the OIC member states presented papers on the world food shortage and offered suggested solutions, case studies and success stories.
