20 August 2013 – More than 410,000 public visitors, up five per cent over the previous fair, attended this year’s HKTDC Food Expo, which closed yesterday. The five-day fair was organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
Night Star
Fair highlights included the Gourmet Zone, featuring fine fare organised under four themes: Western Delicacies, Asian Cuisine, Chic & More and Sweet Delights. Also popular was the Public Hall, with night tickets available for the special price of HK$10. Indeed, night visitors accounted for 19 per cent of the fair’s total public visitors.
More than 1,100 exhibitors from 26 countries and regions participated in the fair’s 24th edition. The fair’s Trade Hall, open 15-17 August, drew more than 19,600 trade buyers from 63 countries and regions, up 18 per cent over last year’s total.
Connecting Buyers and Sellers
“The HKTDC has always strived to connect suppliers and buyers and create business opportunities,” said HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau. “We organised nearly 70 buying missions, totalling more than 3,300 buyers, to this year’s fair. The HKTDC also invited 12 prominent retailers and distributors, including 759 Store, CitySuper Ltd, Ng Fung Hong Ltd, Sogo (Hong Kong) Co Ltd and Yata Ltd. Once we understood their purchasing needs, we matched them with suitable suppliers on-site. This helped buyers find quality suppliers and enhanced their purchasing efficiency.”
Ida Tang, Director of the 759 Store, a local department chain featuring food products, said she was at the expo looking for direct suppliers from all over the world. The company joined the fair’s buyer booth, with its business-matching service, for the first time. “We consider it extremely well done,” said Ms Tang. “The pre-arranged meetings with exhibitors saved us a lot of time, and we found three promising suppliers in one morning.”
“This is a really amazing expo with unrivalled scale compared to other trade fairs we have attended,” said Jeff Hurley, President of Guam’s Trade Route Companies. Guam, one of the fair’s 14 pavilions, was participating for the first time. “Since Hong Kong is unquestionably the gateway to the Chinese mainland, we want to gain exposure and experience by participating in the expo.”
