FEED Business Worldwide - May, 2012

 

ILDEX Vietnam - greener and more international 

 

by Geraldine EE

 

 

ILDEX Vietnam 2012 took in late March at Ho Chi Minh City's Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. Jointly  organised by VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific and Thailand-based NCC Exhibition Organizer Company Ltd, this fair's Vietnamese edition has undergone quantum leaps in size and scope. Compared to the first ILDEX Vietnam in 2006 when 17 companies showed up, this year featured over 180 exhibitors. This is a huge, 10-fold expansion over a mere half decade, with more to come in the future.

 

This year's participant's keynoted the theme of agribusiness sustainability. As Vietnam's fast growing agribusiness sector is seeking to avoid the food safety issues seen in China, the theme highly meaningful this country's early stage of agribusiness development. Featured suppliers offered products and solutions with minimal impact on the environment drive home the green message.

 

Many of them were names well-recognised in Europe or North America. Germany's ADDCON, US-based Alltech's Vietnamese subsidiary, Britain's Meriden Animal Health and Soma Inc. all exhibited natural and eco-friendly feed additives. With the same sustainability theme in mind, Munters' Thai subsidiary and Rotem Control and Management showcased energy-efficient climate control systems, which recoup their start-up costs via subsequent energy savings.

 

Seminar topics such as "Processing livestock waste and retrieving biogas generator in CDM form" explored sustainable waste management techniques. Livestock supplement supplier BIOMIN explained its concept of "NutriEconomics", which seeks to balance enhanced livestock performance with a reduced environmental footprint.

 

Aware of the need to get past the use of unsustainable, antibiotic-based growth promoters, Framelco encouraged the use of sustainable alternatives in its presentation "The new Fra molecules to beat Pathogens".  Similarly themed seminars included, "Improve food safety in livestock" and "A practical look at Biosecurity."

 

Alongside veteran participants from France, the Netherlands, South Korea, China, and Thailand, ILDEX Vietnam attracted new exhibitors from Eastern Europe and Latin America, among other regions. This too is a progress of sorts: From a Vietnam-centric event five years ago, ILDEX's Vietnam edition first attracted the attention of ASEAN neighbours and now features sizeable contingents from China and the west.

 

Exhibitors were impressed by the large crowds attending this year's exhibition. "It is a pleasure to come to Vietnam and see the genuine enthusiasm that feed producers, farmers and nutritionists have for Meriden's range of 100% natural products.  The show was extremely positive and we will continue to build on the success we already have here in Vietnam," said Dr Kelvin Chong, regional sales manager of UK-based Meriden Animal Health. The exposition, "saw a 25% growth in volume and exhibitors number compared to the previous edition", said Gerard Leeuwenburgh, managing director of VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific.

 

 

Themed "Bringing international expertise to satisfy local needs", the aim of regional ILDEX shows is to answer unique, specific local agribusiness needs. In Vietnam, ILDEX's conference programme focused on recent developments and new technology in the livestock business. Almost a full day was dedicated to swine health, including PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome or blue ear disease), and PED (porcine epidemic diarrhoea). As happened earlier in China, both of these diseases are becoming serious issues in southern Vietnam's swine sector.

 

Animal feed company De Heus hosted a seminar focusing on sow health and basic piglet management to an audience of approximately 200 pig farmers. René Noteborn, De Heus's project manager emphasised the important relationship between feed quality and hog performance. He stressed that diets should "specifically meet the animals' needs and piglets in particular because they are vulnerable young animals…Factors such as freshness and protein levels must be of an excellent quality in order to guarantee supplying safe and good feed at the farm gate."  

 

As Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong highlighted during his opening address, Vietnam's government has set a target to increase livestock's share of national agricultural production from the current 27% to 40% by 2020. And this rapid transformation explains both ILDEX Vietnam's rapid growth and the challenges the local industry faces.

 

As the world's fastest growing livestock market, ILDEX Vietnam will be attracting more participants from around the world in the coming years. Seeking to replicate China's profound leaps in protein consumption and livestock rearing efficiency, policymakers are also keen to ensure that the quality of Vietnamese agribusiness rises in tandem with its growing output. For this reason, sustainability will be featured in many ILDEX Vietnams to come, and you can expect each successive show to robustly outgrow the attendance and sophistication of its predecessors.