Oct 24, 2019
COLOGNE, GERMANY – Earlier this month, USA Rice exhibited at 2019 Anuga, the largest bi-annual foodshow in the world. This year marked the 100-year anniversary of the tradeshow that attracts more than 170,000 attendees and 7,590 exhibitors from 106 countries.
Located in the USA National Pavilion, the USA Rice booth was a focal point for visitors from Europe, as well as the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world. USA Rice members joined USA Rice staff collecting trade leads and touching base with existing trade contacts.
“Anuga is an important meeting place for rice traders not only from the EU, but also from the Middle East area,” said Derek Alarcon, Farmers’ Rice Cooperative director of export sales, who attended the show. “It provides a great opportunity to generate new contacts, as well as meet with existing clients and collect valuable market intelligence.”
A welcome visitor to the USA Rice booth was USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Ken Isley, who stopped by to talk with members and learn about the promotion work USA Rice conducts throughout the region.
“A big draw enticing visitors to our booth were the graphics highlighting the U.S. industry’s sustainability efforts,” said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “Thanks to all the important work our farmers do across the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, economic, and social – we had a good story to tell here.”
After the successful conclusion of Anuga, USA Rice has already started prepping for the next big tradeshow in the region, the Gulfood show that takes place in Dubai, February 16-20, 2020.