Turkish companies join int'l food fair

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Turkey's food and beverage companies have attended the world’s largest Anuga food fair held in Cologne, Germany, Yeni Shafak newspaper has reported.

Some 202 Turkish companies with the support of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) and 88 companies individually exhibited their products at the Anuga food fair, the report added.

Among the 4,600 companies from 97 countries, Turkey ranked fourth-largest exhibitor at the fair following Italy, Germany and Spain in the list.

Moreover, with its organizational capacity, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce once again proved its strong position in Turkey’s current and future food sector.

Chamber Vice-President Israfil Kuralay said that during the pandemic, the ICOC organized the whole process from the stands of the companies to the transportation of the products to the location where the fair was organized.

"I hope and wish that both our companies and the Turkish economy will reap the rewards of these efforts and endeavor," he stressed.

 “Agriculture is at least as important as the industry for the survival of our country. We must further increase our agricultural output and added value,” he said, noting the importance of agriculture during the pandemic.

Furthermore, Kuralay stressed the strategic importance of being one of the self-sufficient countries in global food production.

 “The high level of price increases also points to the problem of lack of supply in the world. Our growth potential in agriculture is very high,” he added.

Turkish companies mostly exhibited general food, bakery products, beverages, frozen food, meat and meat products, culinary equipment and technologies, hot drinks, and organic food at the fair.

Sustainable food, new trends, new congresses, and health were among the top topics at the event.

 Anuga was also noted as one of the first important examples of hybrid fairs in the world that started during the pandemic. The virtual format of the fair called “Anuga @home” was also presented along with the face-to-face fair. At the fair, the corridor distances were increased to five meters due to the pandemic.

At the entrance to the fair, special entrance cards were prepared for the companies. The fair entrance tickets of the relevant person were uploaded to the mobile application and became valid together with the vaccination passport.

The company representatives were requested to take one of two doses of Astra Zeneca, Moderna, Biontech vaccines while entering Germany. China was unable to formally participate in this year's Anuga fair, since its vaccine, Sinovac, was not considered valid in Europe.