Organised by the German trade show specialists fairtrade and their Ethiopian partners Prana Events, the 2024 edition is scheduled for 16 to 18 May at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa. Here, industry leaders, innovators, and enthusiasts will all meet for a truly remarkable experience. 

Building on Success – Ethiopia’s leading trade show & conference on agrofood & plastprintpack 

Opened on 8 June 2023, the opening session was held with the participation of the Ethiopian government, associations and private businesses, the ambassadors of Germany, Kuwait and Türkiye and the Director of the Italian Trade Agency, ambassadors or embassy representatives of Oman, Palastine, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Supported by its Gold Sponsor made in KUWAIT, the event facilitated thousands of B2B meetings between 3,558 trade visitors from all over Ethiopia and neighboring countries and 138 exhibitors from 16 countries.

The exhibitors came from Austria, Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Türkiye.

Results – How exhibitors evaluated the event

Exhibitors were highly satisfied with agrofood Ethiopia 2023, 89% with the event as a whole, 86% would recommend the event to their peers and 86% intend to participate again.

For plastprintpack Ethiopia, the figures are: 100% would recommend the event, 93% intend to participate again and 84% were satisfied with the event as a whole.

Said Gabriele Giallorenzo, Area Sales Manager – SACMI: “I found this fair very interesting, very busy. Sacmi cannot miss the opportunity to attend the agrofood exhibition here in Addis Ababa. We were very happy to attend this exhibition this year and I invite all of you to attend it also next year because we will be present for sure, and it will be a great opportunity for you to discover much more in the plastics and food industry.”

And Leslie Davis, Marketing Manager – ahlia Group outlined: “agrofood Ethiopia was a good show and the Ethiopian market is really important for us. What we feel is that the Eastern part of Africa shares a lot of similarities and habits of food with the Middle Eastern countries. And since we are from the Middle East, we find that we can actually cooperate a lot with Ethiopian businesses.”

Also in 2024: National pavilions from China, India, Korea, Kuwait and Türkiye

As at the 2023 edition, national pavilions will again be organised for the event in 2024 by China, India, Italy, Korea, Kuwait, and Türkiye.

China will again be represented with 60+ exhibitors. The official India Pavilion is supported by CAPEXIL, India’s Premier Export Promotion Council, participated.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency KOTRA is represented with an information stand as part of the trade section of their Embassy in Addis Ababa. The official Kuwaiti pavilion is organised by the PAI Public Authority for Industry – Kuwait. 

The Türkiye Pavilion is organised with the support of the Ministry of Trade.

agrofood & plastprintpack Ethiopia 2024 enjoy the strong support of the following Ethiopian and international institutions

Ethiopian government:

• Ministry of Agriculture
• Ethiopian Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Industry Development Institute
• Chemical and Construction Inputs Industry Development Institute

Internationally:

• AHK Delegation of German Industry and Commerce for Eastern Africa
• Embassies of Germany, France, India, Italy, Kuwait and Türkiye
• GIZ German Association for International Cooperation
• ITA Italian Trade Agency in cooperation with FEDERUNACOMA, UCIMA, ANIMA, AMAPLAST and ACIMGA
• Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade
• Türkiye Exporters Assembly

Facts & figures on the Ethiopian agrofood & plastprintpack market  

• Agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy and continues to contribute 33% of GDP, provide 66% of employment and generate 76% of the country’s annual exports. Over the past five years, agriculture has grown at an annual rate of 9%, reaching a value of US$36 billion. (ATA Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency)
• With annual imports of food and beverage processing and packaging technology ranging from €64 million to €171 million in recent years, Ethiopia is one of Africa’s largest importers of such technology.  
• With a population of 120 million, expected to grow to 200 million by 2050 according to the World Bank, Ethiopia has long been the largest food market in East and Central Africa. Spending in the F&B sector is growing steadily, and F&B production is by far the largest segment of the Ethiopian manufacturing industry. Accordingly, the demand for food and beverage ingredients continues to grow. 
• Despite heavy investment in local food production, Ethiopia remains one of Africa’s largest food importers. Between 2018 and 2021, food imports will amount to between $1.8 billion and $3.3 billion annually, while food exports will amount to between $1.9 billion and $2.5 billion over the same period.
• Ethiopia is the second largest importer of plastics in primary form in East and Central Africa. As Ethiopia does not produce any plastic raw materials, 100% of the raw materials are imported. Imports of plastic raw materials will grow by 13.5% per year between 2007 and 2020, from 43 kt to 224 kt, +421%. (EUROMAP) Ethiopia is one of the two largest importers of plastics technology in East Africa, with imports of €18m in 2022. 
• With an annual growth rate of 7.4% from 2016 to 2021, Ethiopia is one of Africa’s fastest growing importers of printing and paper converting technology.
• With packaging technology imports of €16m in 2022, Ethiopia is one of the largest importers of such technology in East Africa.  

Source for technology investment figures: VDMA 2023

For more information and:
www.agrofood-ethiopia.com
www.ppp-ethiopia.com