Some 26 South African companies are expected to leave on Wednesday for France to attend the five-day Sial Paris International Food Products Exhibition which kicks off in the French capital on Friday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition has announced.
The South African National Pavilion, in which the companies would be showcasing their products and services, has been set up at the exhibition centre, the ministry said.
Sial Paris is a popular trade show regarded as the world’s leading exhibition network with unrivalled geographic coverage of Europe and the rest of the world.
Local business people are said to be excited about the prospects of participating in the fair and are looking forward to showcasing the best of food products that the country has to offer the international community, the ministry said.
One of these excited business persons is House of Natural Butter managing director Debra Ncube whose company is based in Cape Town.
Ncube said her groundwork before departing for France was already bearing fruits as she had managed to set up meetings with at least three distributors to market her products comprising peanut, macadamia and almond butter.
“Our main objective for travelling to France is to strike deals during or after the exhibition that will enable us to penetrate the European market,” Ncube said.
The owner of the Stellenbosch-based Spicy Bulldog food company, David Stephens, said all his preparations were going according to plan and was looking forward to his company’s first international exhibition ever.
“My products, which consist of wholegrain mustard, chutney and chilli sauce, have been shipped to France already,” Stephens said.
He said he wanted “to find importers in Paris so that I can export my products to Europe.”
“I am optimistic that I will succeed,” he said.
The firms are mainly producers of processed foods, non-alcoholic beverages, preserved foods, spices, soups, deep frozen products, health and organic products, sweets, sea food and gourmet food products, the ministry said.
NM/jn/APA