Germany-Trade Fair was a success.

GERMANY -

Anuga FoodTec, the international trade fair for food and drink technology, which ended on Friday, 13 March attracted 34,000 visitors.

Most of the exhibiting companies indicated they were satisfied with the number of visitors and the strong interest in the innovations on show, which in some cases led to good business deals.

The 34,000 trade visitors from 114 countries was a figure comparable to that of the previous fair with 43 per cent of the visitors came from abroad.

"In view of the overall economic situation, this is a satisfactory result and a positive signal for the economy as a whole," said Koelnmesse CEO Gerald Böse.

"The excellent figures for exhibitor and visitor participation is a clear signal to the sector that it should meet the challenges it is facing today by coming up with innovative solutions. And these figures are also an indication of the sector’s commitment to Anuga FoodTec as the leading information and purchasing platform of the international food industry."

Dr Reinhard Grandke, Chief Executive of the German Agricultural Society (DLG)said: "Anuga FoodTec has impressively lived up to its reputation as the leading business platform of the food and drinks technology sector.

"Issues such as automation, packaging, hygiene and food safety, which were the centre of interest at this year’s Anuga FoodTec, show that the safety and quality of food, as well as sustainable food production, will continue to be a focus of the relevant technologies in the future."

A total of 1,194 exhibiting companies from 39 countries attended this year’s Anuga FoodTec, representing a slight increase over the exhibitor figure posted by the previous event (2006: 1,178 suppliers from 40 countries).