IFFA, a meat trade fair held in Germany, is set to further enhance the meat processing and packaging industry of the country.

The domestic industry exports around 80% of its meat processing and packaging output.

Last year was a difficult one for the food processing machinery industry in Germany with overall demand plummeting by 27%, according to recent figures from the country's Trade Association for Food Processing and Packaging Machinery (VDMA). However, demand within the Germany remained strong with sales rising by 11%.

Demand has recovered since December, especially with orders from abroad which have seen a 65% increase compared to 2009. On-year figures from December 2009 to February 2010, which are less subject to short term fluctuations, show an increase of 15% in orders from countries outside Germany.

The trade fair, which will be held in Frankfurt on May 8-13, will be showcasing the latest products from 949 exhibitors from across the globe—an increase of 41 over IFFA 2007. The rise in exhibitor numbers is another signal that the meat industry is pulling out of the recession.

Increasing automation in meat processing looks set to be a major theme at IFFA, with manufacturers exhibiting advanced technology for all stages of the meat processing chain.

"In this connection, the main goal is to increase the degree of automation in production because, compared with other segments of the food industry, this is still very low in meat processing," said a statement from Messe Frankfurt.

Use of intelligent IT technology and continuous documentation systems to ensure full traceability along the supply chain is also likely to be an important theme. Hygiene orientated machine design to promote food safety will continue to play a large role.