Pioneer Specialist Ingredients Exhibition to take place in Cairo 2001.

ITE Group Plc, the leading independent trade fair organiser with over 325 trade events world-wide, aim to repeat the growing success of Ingredients Russia and FICEE (Co-organised with Miller Freeman) with their local Egyptian partners ACG, by combining local know how and international expertise for Ingredients Africa-Arabia.

Egypt provides the ideal location for this Ingredients forum capturing not only local food markets but also the surrounding regional markets, as it is the geographical hub that links the Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean and has the largest population of the region of 60 million. The Arab world population is in excess of 280 million and food consumption is growing by 6% per year due to population increases, changes in eating habits and new wealth through economic developments in the region. There are currently more than 150,000 food production businesses in the region, and the improvement of taste, yield and longevity is high on their agenda in order to keep up with the technological advancements of Western companies.

The improving economical climate of Egypt and political commitment by the government to reform laws governing commerce, investment and taxation is opening up the food market to foreign investment. The food industry is Egypt's largest industry and production is valued at US$3.8bn a year, virtually all of which is absorbed by the local market. The local Egyptian government is aiming to increase these levels by implementing large-scale privatisation programmes to modernise and build food processing facilities. Despite rapid growth, the sector is relatively under-developed and the bulk of production remains in the hands of small local and regional firms. Ingredients Africa-Arabia has been founded in response to the need for progress and development by local food manufacturers in the Middle East and North Africa, and will represent the entire spectrum of food ingredients and raw materials for food. Specifically for suppliers, buyers, manufacturers, distributors and scientists the forum will include seminars and conferences co-organised with leading officials within the food technology industry. It will enable exhibitors to show their latest products, learn about new innovations and technologies, discuss the market with industry leaders and establish new contacts in the growing Middle Eastern and African food markets.

Ingredients Africa-Arabia will also be co-located with IAAPW, The International African-Arabian Paper, Printing Packaging and Processing Week also organised by ITE, which will provide the advantage of synergies in visitors attracted to Interfood Tech and Interdrink Tech which form part of the IAAPW forum.

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