4th Food, Agri & Livestock Asia 2010, Int’l Exhibition & Conference inaugurated

KARACHI: Sharmila Farooqui, Advisor to Chief Minister, Sindh, inaugurated the 4th Food, Agri & Livestock Asia 2010, Int’l Exhibition & Conference on Saturday, at Karachi Expo Centre. The 3-day Event is organized by E-commerce Gateway Pakistan the only UFI (Paris) Approved Event Organizer of Pakistan.

The Inauguration was performed as a Multiple Ribbon Cutting Ceremony where alongwith the Chief Guest, CEO Ecommerce Gateway Ozair Ahmed Hanafi; Ambassador of Argentine Rodolfo J. Martin Saravia; Ambassador of Libya Ibrahim Elabad M. Hentish; and Foreign Delegates were also present.

The Chief Guest visited the exhibition halls and specially welcomed the foreign participants and assured them all the support on behalf of the Government of Sindh. She appreciated the holding of series of International Exhibitions & Conferences by Ecommerce Gateway focusing on most important sectors of economy and said that the participation of foreign investors/exhibitors here shows their interest in Pakistan’s potential.

Prior to the Inauguration, the Conference on "Food Processing, Value Addition and Quality Standards" was also conducted in conjunction with the Exhibition.

The Speakers of Conference include Farukh Mazhar, Managing Director, SGS Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd.; Muhammad Umar Qasim, Chief Executive, Lal Qila Restaurant; Dr. Gleyn E. Bledsoe, Professor, The Institute of Int’l Agriculture, Michigan State University; Anjum Iqbal Varsy, Director Operations, SGS Agricultural Services; Habib Shah, Head of Sales Retail & Agriculture, Habib Bank Ltd; Dr. Syed Asad Sayeed, Professor & Chairman, Dept. Food Sciences & Technology, University of Karachi; Mujeeb Maqbool, Food Safety Coordinator, (Aga Khan University Hospital); Babar J. Siddique, Quality Assurance Manager, Shangrila (Pvt) Ltd; Imran Ahmed, GM Product Quality & Development, Engro Foods Ltd.; Faisal Nadeem, Manager, Nestle Pakistan; Jorge Lemos, MD, Grupo Gen, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Irfan Sohail, Technical Manager & Arif Laiq, Food Safety Auditor, S & SC Division, SGS Pakistan; Saeed Bhombal, CEO, Bhombal & Co. and shared their views and presentations with the audience.

Food, Agri & Livestock Asia is a unique show in South Asia, which proudly represents theme of "Pakistan - The Halal Kitchen of the World". The Event provides an exclusive opportunity to see what the entire South Asian industry has to offer and to check out the latest products & innovations in the regional market. This year the Forum will feature development forecasts for regional markets of food products, major trends in trade & food policy, and trends & development prospects of demand for food and agricultural products.

4th Food, Agri & Livestock Asia 2010 is being organized by Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan with the support of Ministry of Food Agri & Livestock, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Ministry of Dairy Development, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Pakistan Food Association (PFA), Pakistan Horticulture Development & Export Company (PHDEC), Agro Food Research & Resource Centre (AFRRC), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Board of Investment (BOI), Small & Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), Jamal’s Yellow Pages of Pakistan. The Show is endorsed by Pakistan Food Association (PFA), while, the Platinum Sponsor is ULKER. The sponsors are, Peak Freans (English Biscuits Manufacturers), Student Biryani, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), SGS and Adamjee Insurance.

There are 200 stalls in the Exhibition where more than 160 international & domestic exhibitors are showcasing their products and services. A number of foreign participants are also gracing the Event from more than 10 countries including China, Turkey, Argentine, Indonesia, Russia and Malaysia. Since the theme of the Event is The Halal Kichen of the World, it will also be open for Families from 3 - 8 PM daily. While, 10 - 3 PM will remain exclusive for Trade/ Corporate Visitors. More than 40,000 visitors are expected to visit the Event during the 3 days.

Food, Agri & Livestock Asia has become an annual meeting place for representatives of food business, experts and analysts around the region. The key goal of the exhibition is to highlight development trends and prospects and provide a platform for dialogue between experts engaged in international food analysis, specialists in various fields of the industry, and representatives of ministries and related departments.