Jeddah hosts more than 400 exhibitors participating in November

Jeddah hosts more than 400 exhibitors participating in three major international exhibitions taking place in November 2016 with Arab and international wide participation, in an outstanding  convention bringing together all those interested in furniture and design, food and beverage and health and beauty amid expectations of more than 20 thousand participants to attract local and global investments and complete hundreds of international deals and participations.

During a press conference held yesterday in Jeddah Hilton, the exhibitions organizing committee revealed the full details, in the presence of Haya Sunaidi chairman of Sunidhi Expo and conferences, Rooney Haddad director of the exhibitions, sponsors, supporters, media representatives and experts.

Sunaidi said: “Through the three exhibitions we work to keep up with Kingdom’s  2030 vision and achieve basic elements in exhibitions’ industry which boosts national tourism and an is input to attract foreign investments and develop national product to international comeptitiveness. We function on successful international partnerships, to support the national transformation program launched by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, "May Allah protect him", and receive support of Crown Prince HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef and the godfather of 2030 vision deputy Crown Prince HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.”

Haddad stressed that the significant momentum in November would  initiate with 8th International Fair for Furniture and Interior Designing ‘DecoFair 2016’ held from 7- 10 November in Jeddah Hilton, with 75 exhibitors from 12 countries under the auspices of HRH Prince Faisal Bin Sultan Bin Naser Bin Abdul Aziz, chairman of the Advisory Board of handcraft charity society in Makkah region, with the participation of a large number of developed countries in the field of furniture, such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, Kuwait, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia hosting the annual design contest for best design in professional platform to boost designers and creative designers.

He added that 35 countries participate in 4th ‘Foodex Arabia 2016’, the largest Saudi exhibition in food and beverage from 21 - 24 November 2016 at Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events under the auspices of HRH Prince Fahad Bin Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz. ‘Foodex Arabia’ attracts 230 exhibitors offering the best products of chilled, fresh and frozen food, dairy products, canned goods, meat, poultry, snacks and candy, which gathers interested personnel from diverse sectors such as distribution, retail and hospitality and hosts Salon Culinary competition with 140 chefs from all over the world.

Haddad noted that 3rd ‘Health and Beauty’ Expo’  is held under the patronage of HH Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Muhammed head of tourism committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, from 27- 29 November in Jeddah Hilton, hosts 120 exhibitors from 17 countries. It aims to promote knowledge about health and well-being since personal care products are popular souvenirs during pilgrimage season, thus boosting up international tourism market.

Mohammed Al Safh director of festivals and events at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce said that the chamber  works continuously to support and encourage activities of all kinds, especially that activities give out  many sectors and cheer tourism, noting that the chamber offers facilities for business owners.

Chairman of the frozen and dried food at Alfa Company, Qasim Ayub said that by participation, the company aims to introduce foreign suppliers to Saudi companies eyeing to join food sector, pointing out to the expected increase of Saudi food imports to 130 billion riyals in 2020 with growth ranging between 7 and 8% per annum. He stressed that fast food market in the Kingdom touched 17 billion riyals,

with a high number of retail stores up to 50,000 coping with of the Kingdom's 2030 vision.

Chairman of Manuel, the retail trading partner of ‘Foodex Arabia’, Khalid Darwish added: “We participate for the third year and we witness constant development of the exhibition preparations in terms of contributors and participating countries, especially that the Saudi retail sector is growing rapidly and attracts investors.”

Abdul Rahman Bin Ahmad Al Amudi, chairman of Al Amudi Holding Group "Nazih" the main sponsor of health and beauty exhibition, unveiled  that Saudi Arabia controls 41% of health and beauty market in the Gulf region with total expected spending during this year up to 18 billion riyals, compared to 17 billion riyals last year, confirming that facilitating communication channels and direct contact opportunities between government bodies and private sector, top participants’ gains and accomplishments.

Al Jazeera Paints Regional Director,  western region the official sponsor of ‘DecoFair’, Rami Almasy noted the increased furniture import volume to to 7 billion riyals annually, necessitating the expansion of international partnerships to localize the industry in the context of 2030 vision  which aims to reduce imports, where as the sector’s volume growth is estimated by 14% per anum amid rising purchasing power and desire frequent renewal by many people.