Visitors check out coffee products at the 2017 Food & Hotel Vietnam that opened in HCM City on April 25. — VNS photo Xuan Huong

The food and beverage industry is expected to maintain a growth rate of more than 10 per cent until 2020, according to experts.

Tran Viet Dung, deputy director of VCCI Exhibition Service Co., Ltd, according to many experts, Việt Nam is a tropical agricultural country with a diverse source of raw materials, which are an important input in food processing.

This advantage, backed by rising consumer spending, increasing economic growth and a fast expanding retail network have all served to raise growth potential for the country’s food and beverage markets, he said.

The number of international visitors to Viet Nam increased strongly to top 10 million last year, and the number is expected to reach 17-20 million by 2020, he said.

BT Tee, general manager of UBM VES, said the rise in the number of visitors has caused a boom in the hotel segment with increased occupancy rates and international hotel chains launching new properties.

International visitors require a variety of quality and safe foods that can cater to their tastes and palates, and this requires businesses in the food and hotel industry to upgrade, he said.

Food & Hotel expo

The 2017 Food & Hotel Vietnam, the country's leading international food and hospitality trade exhibition, which opened in HCM City on April 25, would be the sourcing and networking platform for the food and hospitality industry in Viet Nam, he said.

Into its ninth edition now, the three-day event has attracted 614 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions, 76 per cent of them international enterprises.

There are 20 international group pavilions from Australia, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the US, the highest number ever, he said.

He said the number of local exhibitors has also increased by 38 per cent from the last edition in 2015.

Around 70 per cent of the products displayed include food and drinks, while the remaining are hospitality goods and supplies.

Speaking at the inauguration of the US Pavilion, Mary Tarnowka, the US consul general in HCM City, said, “We have more than 38 exhibitors displaying a wide variety of food products, including cheese, health and nutrition foods, poultry, beef, pork, frozen foods, popcorn, and snack foods just to name a few.

“All of the products on display represent safety, reliability and high quality.”

Viet Nam is a promising market for US agricultural products. It is the US’s eighth largest agriculture market, with food and agricultural exports increasing by 30 per cent in the first two months of this year.

Vietnamese consumers want quality, safe and delicious food products and the US can offer many of those, she said.

Participating in the expo for the first time, Germany-based Häfele Company is exhibiting solutions for hotels such as electronic control system Dialock, automatic sliding doors, master keys, movable walls and others.

The expo also includes culinary and barista competitions, conferences on hotel investment and business in Việt Nam and other topics.

Organised by UBM Singapore Exhibition Services and local partner VCCI Exhibition Service, the event at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre is expected to attract 11,000 visitors. — VNS