Post Release of the Prodexpo'2011 International Exhibition

On 7-11 February 2011 one of the world's largest food forums – Prodexpo'2011 – was successfully held at Expocentre Fairgrounds.The exhibition was organized by Expocentre with the assistance from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture and held under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Moscow City Government. The exhibition carries the Approved Event logos by UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and RUEF – the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, which proves that the event meets the highest international standards of quality.

Prodexpo enjoys attention from the Russian government authorities. In 2011 it was visited by a delegation representing industry unions and association led by Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik.

This year, over 2,000 companies from 55 countries put on display their products on 44,000 sq. m of net exhibition space; apart from major Russian food manufacturers, there were global industry leaders, which took the advantage of the event to promote their goods to the Russian market.

Prodexpo's 17 feature areas presented the whole array of Russian and foreign food and drink.

29 countries exhibited their national pavilions. They are Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and the USA. Bulgaria, Ireland, Japan and Turkey resumed exhibiting at Prodexpo on the state level. This year regular exhibitors were joined by Icelandic companies, which made their first appearance at Prodexpo'2011 in the Fish feature area.

Among the world-renowned brands attending Prodexpo'2011 were Hyleys (Great Britain); Le Cafe, Lactalis, Malaisan (France); Alokozay Tea (UAE); Milford, Tonnies Fleisch (Germany); Pele (Brazil); Cibus (Uruguay); VALIO, Myllyn Paras (Finland); Cykoria (Poland); Lamb Weston (the Netherlands); Rigas Sprotes (Latvia); Eurovision (the USA); Tea Tang, Imperial Teas, Dilmah, Riston (Sri Lanka) and Vetroelite S.P.A. (Italy).

The total attendance of Prodexpo'2011 made up 51,123, of which 95% is industry specialists. The exhibition was attended by the delegates from all federal districts of the Russian Federation and the decision-makers from over 800 Russian cities and towns. Audience quality:

A diverse and busy programme of business-related events became an important constituent of the exhibition. It offered insights into the key trends in the industry. The events on the programme discussed the current situation in the Russian food and drink industry and highlighted prospects for its development; they provided a good platform for effective business networking.

The key events of Prodexpo'2011 were the 6th All-Russian Trade Forum and the 5th All-Russia Food Forum.

The year's largest Retail Chains Purchasing Centre became the focal event for the suppliers. Manufacturers and distributors conducted pre-arranged face-to-face negotiations with 265 decision-makers from 116 retail chains.

The programme featured a conference Russian Food Security Policy: Challenges and Solutions, organized by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture and Agroexposervice company.

Prodexpo'2011 presented Russia's largest showcase of alcoholic drinks. This year's exhibition was the sixth time that the Congress of Regional Alcohol Distributors (KRDA), also known as the AlcoCongress, was held. It presented unbiased overview of the industry as well as development forecasts, and gave insights into the state regulation of the alcohol market.

The competitions held during the exhibition are important for improving the quality of food and drink in the Russian market. They include:

• the 13th Alcohol Sampling contest;
• the annual ProdExtraPac'2011 contest for the best food industry packaging and label;
• the Innovative Product - Prodexpo'2011.

The Prodexpo'2011 demonstrated the latest achievements and innovations in the industry, set the development guidelines, which will, no doubt, enhance the production of high quality food and drink in Russia and help implement important government programmes aimed at raising the living standards in Russia.

We are looking forward to meeting you at the next 19th edition of the Prodexpo International Exhibition, which will be running on 13-16 February 2012 at Expocentre Fairgrounds.

Expocentre Press Service