Reasons enough for fairtrade Messe to move the fifith Agrofood and plastprintpack West Africa from Accra to Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast. The event is due on 20 to 22 November 2018 at the Radisson Blu Hotel Abidjan Airport. Agrofood is West Africa’s fifth International Trade Show on Agriculture, Food processing and packaging, Ingredients, Bakery and pastry and Food and Hospitality. plastprintpack is West Africa’s fifth International Plastics, Printing and Packaging Trade Show.
“In the future, agrofood and plastprintpack West Africa could take place alternately, in the even years in Abidjan, in the odd years in Accra, Ghana,” says Martin März, founder and managing partner at fairtrade. “Agrofood West Africa covers the entire value chain – from field to fork with the three dedicated events agro and AgroTech West Africa; food and bev tec West Africa; and food and hospitality West Africa. The partner event plastprintpack West Africa covers all relevant industries in the plastics, printing and packaging sector.”
DLG German Agricultural Society enters into strategic partnership with fairtrade and brings its agro and trade fair expertise by introducing its AgroTech brand to agro West Africa 2018 and onwards. The focus of the cooperation lies in agricultural technology, animal production, flori- and horticulture and hot-house technology.
Germany’s VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery organise a fact-finding mission to Abidjan in the area of packaging and recycling with five to 10 plastic and rubber machine manufacturers. Within the framework of plastprintpack West Africa 2018, a symposium will then be held so that German machine manufacturers can present their companies and get an overview of the trade fair and the Ivorian market. In addition, there will also be company visits to local processors.
French-speaking West Africa is a rather homogenous market of about 110 million inhabitants, which is growing by more than three million people every year. With the exception of Guinea, all countries use the CFA franc, which is linked to the euro. The currency facilitates not only the overseas export of machinery from Europe and Asia to Abidjan but also the export of food within the French-speaking countries of West Africa.
According to VDMA, the German Engineering Federation, West Africa imported €187.2m of agricultural equipment. The main markets in West Africa, apart from Nigeria, are Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Benin, by order of importance.
In the same year, West Africa imported food processing and packaging technology at a value of €557m, a plus of 10% compared to 2015. The top three major West African markets and their share, apart from Nigeria, are Ghana (23%), Ivory Coast (21%) and Senegal (20%).
Also, the plastprintpack sector provides great chances for doing business as West Africa imported plastics technology at a value of €143m in 2016 - the major West African market, apart from Nigeria, being Ivory Coast with 34%, followed by Ghana and Senegal.
West African imports of printing and paper technology amounted to €122m in 2016. Ivory Coast, apart from Nigeria, ranks first with 33%, followed by Ghana and Guinea. Last but not least, West Africa imported packaging technology at a value of €240m in 2016. Here again its major market, apart from Nigeria, is Ivory Coast with 30%.
West African food imports increased by 6% to $14.43bn in 2015 according to WTO whereas West African food exports rose by 9% to $15.99bn.
