JETRO Johannesburg boasts a successful FOODEX turnout
Mar 10, 2017
One of the largest food and beverage trade shows in the Asia-Pacific region, FOODEX Japan once again took place in Chiba, Japan this March. This year the Johannesburg office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) proudly supported the participation of 11 companies representing Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Madagascar and Lesotho.
The 41 year old show attracts 77,000 professional buyers mostly from the Asian region who eagerly attend.
As a support program for companies in emerging economies, JETRO again organised a “JETRO Zone” pavilion to assist companies who wanted to introduce their products to the Japanese market.
Previously the JETRO Zone included display booths for 49 companies from 25 developing countries. The pavilion was joined by three new participant countries last year including Albania, Comoros, and Lesotho.
This year, Zimbabwe showcased its ground nuts, tea, coffee, marula oil and baobab jam. Mauritius displayed products such as honey, herbal tea, coconut oil and spices. Madagascar exhibited its vanilla, cocoa and pink and black pepper products. Lesotho, which was very popular in last year’s exhibition, once again exhibited its very popular herbs and spices.
When asked about their experience with the exhibition, Mandigonera Enterprises all the way from Zimababwe said that they “had a very healthy flow of visitors and the majority of these visitors were all business buyers. Out of these visitors, most tried our coffee and honey and we received very good responses on the taste and quality of our products.”
“As Mandigonera Enterprises, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the JETRO team for their support and their confidence in our products. It was truly an honour to go to Tokyo.”
The annual FOODEX Japan is set to begin in March 2018 and JETRO Johannesburg is already gearing up to offer its support to interested exhibitors in Southern Africa.
