09 Apr 2013 Drinktec comes to Africa
The organisers are Messe München International (MMI) and its subsidiary MMI Africa, which is based in Jo’burg. The conceptual sponsor is the Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association of the VDMA (German Engineering Federation). A two-year cycle is scheduled for this new event, which will initially take the form of a congress with accompanying exhibition, a format that has proven its value and one that was also used in 2007 for the launch of drink technology India (dti) in Mumbai.
In terms of content and range, food & drink technology Africa – as the name suggests – addresses not only the beverages industry, but also the food sector. The exhibitors at fdt Africa in Johannesburg will therefore be presenting both beverages technology as well as food and packaging technology.
Alongside its function as a technology showcase, fdt Africa will also be a platform for networking, exchange of expertise and continuing professional development. It will bring mostly global manufacturers of food machinery, beverages technology and packaging machinery together with primarily regional, ie Southern African manufacturers of foodstuffs, liquid food and beverages.
The event will be targeted specifically to the needs of this regional market, with a focus on technologies for safe, hygienic and resource-efficient production and packaging of foodstuffs, liquid food and beverages, as well as current developments and trends along the entire value-added chain: from raw materials handling, processing, filling and packaging through to logistics. The conference program will be supplemented by a series of workshops.
fdt Africa is the third international offshoot of the leading world trade fair, drinktec, in Munich, following on from drink technology India (dti) in Mumbai and China Brew & China Beverage (CBB) in Beijing, both of which are also co-organised by Messe München.
The strategy of showing a presence in the key markets has proven itself very worthwhile, according to Dr Reinhard Pfeiffer, the MD at Messe München with responsibility for the show: “It strengthens our flagship, drinktec in Munich. Our experience has shown that organising trade shows or congresses outside Germany always also has positive effects on the events we hold in Munich. Extending the portfolio of drinktec to Africa, and expanding its range to include foods, is the right step and it is a necessary one. Africa is a market of the future, it is a continent with enormous growth potential.”
This new involvement in Africa by Messe München is strongly supported by the industry. Many of the exhibitors at drinktec in Munich will also be putting on a presentation in South Africa in spring 2014.
Volker Kronseder, chairman of the coard of Krones and president of the drinktec Advisory Board, points to the high and increasing level of demand for food and beverages in Africa: “Africa is undergoing a surge in development. Already more than one billion people live on the continent of Africa and by the end of the century that figure is set to rise to 3.6 billion. In other words the population will more than triple. Beverages and foodstuffs will be produced and consumed in Africa and that requires technically solid, efficient and reliable machinery and plant. We can provide this. That is why it is important to present our technology to the market there at food & drink technology Africa 2014.”
Richard Clemens, MD of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, is well aware of the significant potential in the region: “The countries in the south of Africa have developed into a very interesting sales market. In South Africa, for example, which has a population of more than 50 million, the beer market is growing at almost eight percent per year.
In the food sector, growth is predicted to continue at around three percent per year up until 2017. This is, of course, coupled with rising demand for modern equipment and state-of-the-art technology for producing and packaging beverages and food. The German food processing and packaging machinery manufacturers are keen to present their spectrum of products and services in the region, because this rising demand for safe and high-quality food and beverages can only be met with efficient machinery and plant. The combination of a symposium and a trade exhibition is, in our view, the right way.”
Southern Africa: Growing middle class, rising incomes
Around 130 million people live in the countries of southern Africa, and their average age ranges from 17 in Zambia to 25 in South Africa. As in many other regions around the world, people in southern Africa are drawn to the cities, a shift which also brings with it a change in their patterns of consumption, including food and drink, as they increasingly adopt western standards.
A growing middle class and rising incomes also mean a continuation of the upwards trend in spending on food and drink. And here there is a clear demand for ever better quality and higher-value products. Market researchers are expecting that in the countries of southern Africa per-capita expenditure on food (in local currency) will rise by an average of nine to fourteen percent per year in the period from 2012 to 2016.
Demand for beer, soft drinks and bottled water will continue to rise in the coming years. Many of the countries of southern Africa have significant agricultural potential. In the coming years they want to expand their agricultural production and in particular to add value in their own country. In this way they hope to both become independent of exports, and to export those products made in their own countries – and for this modern processing and packaging machines are required.
South Africa: Gateway to the whole of southern Africa
South Africa is becoming an ever more important gateway to the markets of the whole of the southern part of the continent. In 2012 5.2 million tonnes of foodstuffs were processed and packaged in South Africa. The largest segments here are dairy products and baked goods, as well as dried, processed foods. Market researchers are expecting volumes to rise in the period from 2012 to 2017 by an average of around three percent per year.
Many of the foods and beverages produced in South Africa are also exported to neighbouring states. The rising demand for processed and packaged products, and for beverages, is reflected in rising imports of food machinery and packaging machinery from all over the world. Imports into southern Africa have tripled in the period 2001 to 2011 and in 2011 reached a value of 480 million euros.
Further information:
About drinktec
drinktec is the “World’s Leading Trade Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry”. It is the most important trade fair for the sector. Manufacturers and suppliers from all over the world – global companies and SMEs alike – meet up here with all sizes of producers and retailers of beverages and liquid food products. Within the sector drinktec is regarded as the number one platform for launching new products on the world market. At this event manufacturers present the latest technology for processing, filling, packaging and marketing all kinds of beverages and liquid food – raw materials and logistics solutions included. The themes of beverages marketing and packaging design round off the portfolio.
drinktec 2013, which takes place at the Messe München exhibition center in Munich, from September 16 to 20, 2013, is expected to attract around 1 500 exhibitors from over 70 countries and approximately 60 000 visitors from more than 170 countries.