THAIFEX-World of Food ASIA 2018 set May 29-June 2

BANGKOK, March 15 (TNA) - Over 2,500 business operators of food and beverage products from more than 40 countries worldwide, including Thailand, will participate in the THAIFEX-World of Food ASIA 2018, a largest Asian food and beverage expo, set to be held at the IMPACT Trade and Exhibition Center in Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok during May 29-June 2. Permanent Secretary for Commerce Nuntawan Sakuntanaga told journalists of the schedule on Thursday, projecting that the total sale of the five-day fair should reach about 11.5 billion baht, from over 10 billion baht last year. Nuntawan also anticipated that international visitors to the grand Asian food and beverage expo, jointly organized this year by the Thai Ministry of Commerce and the private sector, including the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Germany-based Cologne Mezze, should increase by about 10 per cent from over 150,000 in 2017, as one more day will be added for this year's fair and its total showcase space will be increased to 100,000 square kilometers, from about 70,000 square kilometers last year. According to the senior official, the first three days of the THAIFEX-World of Food ASIA 2018 will be contributed to business matching and talks between participating sellers and buyers, including those from the United States, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Africa, while the last day will be arranged for retail sales. The senior official acknowledged that the THAIFEX-World of Food ASIA 2018 will also provide a good opportunity for more than 600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and new entrepreneurs to sell their products. Besides, the senior official foresaw that the five-day international food and beverage expo should raise Thailand's exports of food and drink products this year by about 8 per cent, totally worth about 27.4 billion US dollars, from about 26 billion US dollars last year, thanks to quality, creativity and varieties of the Thai cuisine. (TNA)