Agri-Food Trade Service

SIAL - Paris, France

Held biennially in October, Salon International de l'Agroalimentaire (SIAL) Paris is the largest food and beverage trade show in the world, alternating each year with ANUGA. The number of exhibiting companies at the 2010 show was 6,000 from 106 countries with 140,000 buyers and sellers from around the globe.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in collaboration with the Canadian embassy in France managed all aspects of the Canada Pavilion at SIAL Paris, including one-on-one meetings with trade commissioners, a common lounge, telecommunication and meeting room facilities and a market debrief providing insight on evolving demands in the lucrative European food market. Export Development Canada (EDC) also presented an overview of their export services.

The Canada Pavilion at the 2010 show included 27 Canadian food and beverage exporters, five associations and two Federal Government departments for a total of 34 exhibitors. In addition to the Canada Pavilion, 31 Canadian companies exhibited in the Fresh Meat Hall under the Canada Pork International Pavilion.

Participants gave high marks to the Canada Pavilion for its attractiveness, visibility, and effectiveness in projecting Canada as a world class agri-food producer. Some 93% of exhibitors reported that participating in the Canada Pavilion provided advantages and enabled them to benefit from Canada's strong reputation. Participants reported sales of $140 million over the next year and 504 leads generated (estimate).

The focus at SIAL Paris is innovation, as was reflected in the 250 conferences and events on nutrition, design, retail, foodservice and ingredients that took place at the exhibition. New trends observed included increasingly upscale prepared foods, changing textures toward frothy, crispy and multi-textured foods, and products with natural sweeteners and berry ingredients.