Press Releases of Tuesday, 11 October 2022

Source: Fairtrade

Fairtrade hosts 7th Agrofood West Africa Trade Fair In Accra from Nov 29 to Dec 1

Managing Director (MD) of fairtrade, Paul Marz Managing Director (MD) of fairtrade, Paul Marz

German trade show specialists, agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa, will from November 29 - December 1, 2022, organise the 7th edition agrofood West Africa in Ghana. The 2022 agrofood trade fair conference, the 7th edition of the fair, will come off at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC). It is expected to bring together exhibitors from thirteen (13) registered countries who will showcase their products at the fair. The participating countries are Ghana, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Iran, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the USA, South Africa, Egypt, and Sri Lanka. The agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa 2022 is a collaboration between fairtrade and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). The rest are the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG). Addressing a press conference in Accra Tuesday, October 11, 2022, in Accra, the Managing Director (MD) of fairtrade, organizers of the upcoming event, Paul Marz, announced that the trade fair will focus on agrofoods and plastic products, printing, and packaging. "From November 29 to December 1, 2022, at the Grand Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre, here in Accra, we are going to have exhibitors from 13 countries all over the world, displaying their latest technology, latest products from their respective countries in the entire food and agrofood value chain. ...From production processing to the final product on the table and everything you need," he noted. He added that the products that will be showcased will include food packaging and labeling, plastic printing, and packaging materials. He disclosed that the objective of the fair is to create trade partnerships and value between international and Ghanaian companies within the agrofood and plastic packaging industry. "...and the second very important objective is to bring production to Ghana to enhance production in Ghana so Ghana becomes less dependent on food imports, and produce more in the country," he further disclosed. Elaborating on the plastics printing and packaging, Mr. Marz revealed that exhibitors in this space will display plastics raw materials, machinery for printing, and labeling on plastic products. "We will also have some of the exhibitors exhibit packaging machinery and products," he mentioned. According to the MD of fairtrade, the international exhibition will be supplemented by a three-day programme that will be laden with presentations and conferences. Mr. Marz used the opportunity to invite all professionals in the agrofood and plastics packaging sector to endeavour to participate in the event. In a brief statement, the Director of Plant, Protection, and Regulatory Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Eric Quaye, commended fairtrade for putting together the exhibition. He stressed that such events were very crucial to the policies of the ministry, adding that there was a need to produce good quantities of foods that needed to be processed further. He entreated Ghanaian businesses that will be participating in the event to take full advantage and shore up their businesses. He pledged MoFA's support to fairtrade to ensure that the event becomes successful. The 6th agrofood West Africa held in 2019 featured 87 exhibitors from 17 countries. The exhibition presented a platform for the exhibitors to offer solutions to hundreds of trade visitors and buyers from Ghana and neighboring West African countries. The exhibitors came from Belgium, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, and Italy. The rest were Jordan, Morocco, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Turkey. About fairtrade Founded in 1991, fairtrade has long been one of the leading organizers of professional international agrofood and plastprintpack trade fairs in Africa and the Middle East. Over the decades, more than 36,000 exhibitors and 1.5 million trade visitors have expressed their confidence in fairtrade. With its international trade shows, they employ innovative ways to connect emerging markets with solution providers from across the globe. Facilitating valuable business contacts between their exhibitors and trade visitors -that is what fairtrade stands for. fairtrade is managed by its founder, Martin Marz, and his son, Paul Marz, who joined the company in 2006 and builds on a highly motivated team of experienced and young professionals, many of them qualified in-house over three years in partnership with the German Cooperative State University to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration - Exhibition, Convention & Event Management or Media & Communication Management.