Food processors gather in Paris to win new business

More than 6,000 food processors from around 100 countries gathered at SIAL fair in Paris yesterday to expand market and win new business.

Visitors from around 200 countries are joining the show from various sectors of the food processing industry, such as distribution, food services, trade and viticulture.

Around 70 percent of the visitors come to the fair in search of new products and suppliers, organisers said. At the biennial SIAL  (Salon International de l'Agroalimentaire) show, 85 percent stalls are from international companies and the rest are from France.

Pran-RFL Group, the sole representative from Bangladesh, is displaying nearly 150 products at two stalls at the five-day event.

Its major products on display include fruit drinks and juices, spices of different categories, noodles, chanachur, chips, milk, rice, puffed rice, yogurt, biscuits, cake, pickles, sauce, jams and jelly.

"We regularly participate in the show because it is the biggest fair on earth for food processors and their customers," said Md Eleash Mridha, a director of the company that is participating in the exposition for the sixth time.

Existing customers and importers from different countries are also visiting the show to know about the new products of the company, he said.

"So we are here to hear their problems and offer new products as well," he said, adding that they also focus on new customers mainly from Europe and Africa.

The Bangladeshi food and agro processor now exports to 108 countries, marking a presence in all the continents.

Its major markets include the USA, Canada, the UK, Italy, France, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Gulf countries and the Saarc region, said Md Mizanur Rahman, chief of export for Pran.

"The demand for our products such as fruit and flavoured drinks, spices, biscuits and other confectionary items is on the rise in these markets," he said.

"We cover most of the African countries," Rahman said, adding that spices, sauces, pickles, snacks and candies are particularly popular among the expatriates from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

"We also manufacture products according to customers' requirements." Bangladesh has huge potential for making and exporting these products due to its low production costs and availability of raw materials, he said.

Pran-RFL Group has also gone for contract manufacturing for some traders and retailers from the USA, Canada and a few European and African countries.

"African countries are now revising their duty structure, and if the duties go up further, we will be in trouble," Rahman said.

If the government opts for some bilateral trade agreements with these countries, Bangladeshi businesses would benefit, he said.

"The standards of Bangladeshi testing laboratories are not adequate and it concerns customers in the developed countries."

Country branding is another important area where Bangladesh is lagging behind its competitors and ultimately affecting exporters, Rahman said.

UK Beverages Pvt Ltd, a Sri Lanka-based company, has participated in the fair with some tea brands. "It's a big fair, so we didn't want to miss the opportunity to display our products on a global platform," said Yugine Victor, manager (tea) for the company.

Mehdi Meftah, general manager at Poland-based Big Brands Group, said they have come to the show to promote and work for some famous brands such as Pepsi, Nestle and Nivea.

Big Brands Group, mainly a distributor, sells products in 75 countries. "We are here to expand business and find new customers," Meftah said, adding that they are participating in the show for the third time.

Groupe Benamor, an Algerian food processor, has come up with pastas, tomato and pepper paste, pizza sauce, jam, spices, bakery items and some traditional dishes.

The company has distributors in all major markets like Europe, North America and the United Arab Emirates, said Fahima Hamidi, the group's communication director.

Bonn Food Industries, an Indian company, is displaying bread, biscuits and some bakery items at the show. They export to 20 countries including the USA and the Middle East, said Ashok Sood, a senior manager for exports at the company.

Bahar Hussain, director (commercial) of HMJ France, a trading house, said they have been importing various food items from Pran-RFL Group for the past one year.

They import ten types of fruit drinks, and more than 40 types of food items like biscuits, chanachur, rice, puffed rice, pickle, sauce and mustard oil from Pran.

Hussain said they are getting a good response from customers. "Both the French and the expatriates from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and some Arab countries are buying these products," he said.

HMJ sells the products in the French market through 5/6 distributors. "So far we have imported products worth $0.2 million," he said, adding that they are in talks with Pran to import some new items such as frozen foods.

Ahmed Sharif Al Momin, another director of the trading firm -- HMJ, said they have not yet received any complaints from customers.

"We directly talk to customers at different stores and they really like the products," he said. "The media, especially some online newspapers, often make negative reports on the products of Pran. These (reports) only harm our exporters and country branding," said the Bangladesh-born entrepreneur based in Paris.