MACAU TRADE & INVESTMENT INTERNATIONAL FAIR-MIF 2011

F&B: a sector of opportunity for European products

 The European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong was delighted to host once again the European Pavilion at MIF, thanks to EUBIP. The opening ceremony, on 20 October was officiated by the guests of honour Mr. Jackson Chang, President of IPIM and Ms. Maria Castillo, Head of the EU Delegation to Hong Kong and Macau and was attended by a large number of European diplomatic representatives, such as Consuls Generals, as well as various Trade Commissioners. This year, the European Pavilion gathered a total of 23 exhibitors, both corporate and institutional, and received the visit of Macau SAR Chief Executive, Fernando Chui.

In parallel to the fair, EUBIP co-hosted a Food & Beverage (F&B) networking cocktail and a business matching session with the Macau Union Suppliers Association. The event featured a series of European F&B suppliers and distributors that showcased their various products through a live tasting. On the Macanese side, F&B representatives of local casinos and hotels attended the event and participated in the B2B sessions with the exhibitors organized by IPIM. The exhibitors expressed their positive views on the potential of the Macanese market for the F&B industry, not only on the procurement side for Casinos and Hotels, but also as a strategic platform for entering the Mainland China market. More and more, European F&B companies, notably Portuguese wine producers make use of Macau as a first step into the Pearl River Delta region which is then explored in a second phase of their business development. With a total of 1,648 restaurants and similar establishments in 2010 (source: Statistics and Service Census of Macau), and an increase of 33% compared to the previous year, the potential of the F&B market in the SAR is huge for European products, very well accepted by the local consumers and international visitors.