MONTREAL -- Food and beverages from 33 countries, ranging from the basic to the exotic and hard-to-find, will be on display here, March 4 to 6, at the first SIAL Montreal trade show.
attend. As of late last week, more than 500 food manufacturers had registered to exhibit.
In addition to individual manufacturers, the exhibit floor will include national pavilions from more than 20 countries, including Austria, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Senegal, Singapore, Turkey, the United States and Venezuela. Other direct reservations come from Belgium, Colombia, Egypt, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Ghana, India, Iran, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
North American countries will be well-represented at SIAL Montreal, both among the exhibitors and the attendees, according to Exposium, the Paris-based show organizer. Canadian companies will comprise 60% of all exhibitors, while U.S. firms account for 20% and Europeans for 15%, according to Exposium projections.
Show highlights will include "Food Innovations 2001," an area devoted to new products, as well as a "First Nations" pavilion featuring indigenous American Indian products. Product categories include frozen foods, seafood, poultry and game, meat, grocery, dairy, breads, fruit and vegetables, as well as wine, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
A Partnership Forum to promote commercial and industrial cooperation within the NAFTA market as well as a State of the Industry report on grocery and food service distribution in North America will also be held in conjunction with SIAL Montreal.
Exposium has partnered with the Quebec Food Retailers Association and the Quebec Agri-Food Export Club to create SIAL Montreal. Exposium's best-known show is its SIAL (Salon International de l'Alimentation), held in Paris every two years. Exposium has been expanding the SIAL concept to other parts of the globe: SIAL China will take place April 10 to 13 in Shanghai, China; SIAL Asia will take place June 5 to 8 in Singapore; and Buenos Aires, Argentina, will host SIAL Mercosur Aug. 21 to 24.