The exhibition season for Belarusian companies in 2021 was opened by the international food industry exhibition Gulfood 2021 in Dubai, which took place on February 21–25. It has been the first large-scale exhibition event for Belarusian companies since the restrictions were imposed due to the pandemic. Was the Belarusian business ready to return to the usual format of work at the exhibition?
The exhibition activities of Belarus abroad were forced to pause since last year's March for well-known reasons. We still managed to implement several foreign exhibition events, but, indeed, there were no large-scale events – except for online ones, but that's a completely different story.
It must be said that throughout this time the Belarusian business has been interested in the possibility of participating in exhibitions, as this mechanism is very effective for promoting products and has shown high efficiency for manufacturers multiple times. Therefore, as soon as we announced the Belarusian exposition at the food exhibition in Dubai, the response was very positive. As a result, our exposition has become the largest in its history. 25 enterprises took part in it, and the Belarusian exposition's area was about 150 meters.
How were the exhibition in general and the Belarusian exposition in particular organized in the epidemiological situation? Were there any restrictions, innovations? How did this affect the process of working at the exhibition?
We tried to ensure maximum safety for our delegation: at our stands, there were contactless thermometers, face masks, disposable gloves, sanitizers. During transportation, we ensured social distancing.
The restrictions and rules were even stricter at the exhibition itself. In particular, there were separate doors for entering and exiting the pavilions. Traffic routes to follow were marked. The organizers introduced a limitation on the number of people who could be at the stand at a time. There were other innovations, but on the whole, it did not fundamentally change the work at the exhibition – there were a lot of visitors, and the negotiations were active and intensive.
The innovation of this year's exposition was the hybrid format. For the first time, the national pavilion was accompanied by a virtual mirror – an online platform that allowed participants and guests of the exhibition to better navigate in the pavilions, find out all the necessary information about the products of Belarusian exponents, as well as get contacts of company representatives for further business communication. This format already remains in our portfolio, and in the future, each of our expositions should be accompanied by such a virtual mirror.
Which companies took part in the exposition? What novelties did they present to the UAE market and the exhibition visitors from other countries? How advantageous did the Belarusian pavilion look at the exhibition?
As I have noted, 25 Belarusian food manufacturers, which presented both new products and foreign sales leaders, possessing international ISO certificates, as well as Halal certificates, took part in the exposition.
The participants of the exposition were dairy industry enterprises, such as "Molochny Mir", "Molochny Gostinets", "Babushkina Krynka", Rogachev Dairy Plant, "Primemilk", Volkovysk OJSC "Bellakt", as well as Slonim, Grodno and Pinsk Meat Processing Plants, Soligorsk Poultry Factory, Confectionery Factory "Vitba". They presented meat and dairy products, poultry and egg products, groceries and confectioneries, drinks, cereal products. Besides, the Belgospischeprom concern presented the developments of Belarusian technologists.
The Belarusian pavilion stood out from the others. In its design, mainly natural colors were used – light brown, green. We, being the organizers, and exhibiting companies, have once again proved that "Made in Belarus" is a notable brand. And the slogan "The Taste of Nature" was associated by visitors with ecological cleanliness and high quality.
Traditionally, large international exhibition events are accompanied by a business program, which improves the efficiency of exhibitors. What were the business events within the framework of the Belarusian exposition?
From the moment of the grand opening, which took place on February 22, the exposition was accompanied by an eventful program. Business events, which are an integral part of exhibitions and expositions, are designed to help establish direct business ties, negotiate product deliveries, and discuss the benefits of joint work.
On February 22, the Belarusian business delegation took part in a business briefing organized by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event included presentations of the economic and investment potential of Belarus and the United Arab Emirates, the export opportunities of Belarusian companies.
On February 23, the accreditation of Belarusian enterprises that want to sell their products on the UAE market was discussed at the meeting of the Belarusian delegation with Minister of Climate Change and Environment Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi. The delegation also held talks with the UAE Minister of State for Food and Water Security Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mheiri to discuss Emirati investments in Belarusian agriculture.
On the same day, the Director for International Affairs of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Dubai Omar Al Khan visited the Belarusian pavilion, got acquainted with the products presented. Agreements were reached on further cooperation of the BelCCI and the CCI of Dubai on the promotion of Belarusian enterprises in the United Arab Emirates.
On February 24–25, the Belarusian exponents took part in Gulfood Innovation Summit, held presentations and negotiations with representatives of retail networks and importers from all over the world.
Besides, to facilitate the establishment of business ties between Belarusian companies and the UAE business, the Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Ulakhovich held meetings with the heads of business associations – the Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahid Saif Al Ghurair and the CEO of Dubai Exports Agency Said Al Awadi.
Prospects for expanding Belarus-Emirates cooperation, issues of strengthening the Halal certification system in Belarus, requirements for products within this system, the possibility of holding a training seminar for Belarusian enterprises on obtaining a Halal certificate were considered at the meeting of Vladimir Ulakhovich with the Deputy Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies of the UAE Omar Al-Sueidi.
How successful was the exposition for Belarusian exporters? What agreements with foreign partners can you name?
I would say that Belarusian enterprises were quite efficient at the exhibition. The contracts with partners from the UAE, Bangladesh, Ghana, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Syria totalled more than 7 million US dollars. In the current situation, this is a good addition to our export portfolio.
In particular, "Primemilk" will supply 3500 tons of powdered milk substitute and cream worth 5 million US dollars. Grodno Tobacco Factory "Neman" signed a contract for 1 million dollars for the supply of its products. Besides, Belpishcheprom LLC signed contracts worth 500 thousand dollars with Emirati partners.
Rogachev Dairy Plant signed a contract for the supply of the first batch (25 tons) of butter to the UAE. Such manufacturer's product as drinking sterilized milk attracted the interest of customers from Yemen. Companies from Bangladesh and Ghana drew attention to condensed milk, Libyan delegation representatives – to concentrated milk without sugar.
In general, it can be noted that the pandemic did not significantly affect the efficiency of the exhibition. The flow of visitors decreased slightly, but the quality of the audience significantly increased.
In your opinion, what are the main features of the after-pandemic exhibitions? Is it possible to say, after holding this exposition and Gulfood 2021 exhibition in general, that the exhibition industry has begun to recover from the pandemic, to return to its traditional scale?
Perhaps, the increased use of online tools has become the main notable change in the way exhibitions are held now. Belarusian exhibitors were at the forefront among those who actively introduced innovations. The online mirror made it possible to remotely visit the exposition for those who could not arrive at the event venue.
Concerning recovery prospects, we can say that business desires and needs it. However, the main point here is the position of the countries' leaders on entry restrictions and mass events holding. Therefore, recovery is already underway, but it will be geographically uneven. But there is one thing I can say for sure – wherever international exhibitions are held in the coming months and years, Belarus will be represented at them with a spectacular, worthy national stand. We'll take care of this!
Subscribe to news
