SIAL Paris, the world’s largest food and beverages show this year, opens its doors this week and runs until Wednesday 23 October.

According to the organisers, 7,500 exhibitors have reserved stand space in one of the 11 exhibition halls.

They are expecting 285,000 industry professionals to visit the show over this weekend and up to next Wednesday, with 400,000 products on display.

This is the 60th year of this show and while its target market is a global audience of exhibitors and visitors, it could be described as the ploughing for the food and drinks industry.

Participants

While Ornua and Tirlán will be present in Hall 7, it is Hall 6 - the meat hall - where the main Irish presence will be.

Ashbourne Meat Processors, Buitelaar Group, Dawn Farms, Dawn Pork and Bacon, Kepak Group, Liffey Meats, QK Meats Ltd, Rosderra Irish Meats and Wild Irish Game will all be present on the Origin Green stand organised by Bord Bia.

ABP and Dawn Meats will have their own separate stands in the meat hall, as they have also a major presence in Britain and Poland, in the case of ABP. Traditional Meat also has a separate stand in the meat hall.

While it is marketed as an international food show, in reality it is very European-focused and French in particular.

Active participation by the Irish meat industry is a given, as, after the UK mainland, Europe is the only market of significance for beef and lamb and while pigmeat is exported further afield, Europe is also a huge market.

Biannual event

The SIAL show takes place in October biannually, alternating with ANUGA in Cologne, Germany, on the years in between.

Irish companies have been participating for decades at this stage and veterans will typically moan about it not being what it used to be and there are no worthwhile new customers to be found.

Given the advance in communication over the decades, that may well be true, but while it may not be a forum for generating much new business, it is very much a networking occasion and an opportunity to impress established customers with an impressive presence at a major event.

Indeed, the criteria for company participation often comes down to what the risk would be if major customers visiting the exhibition noticed that a major supplier was missing if they had been a regular exhibitor in the past.

Anyone visiting for the first time will be impressed by the sheer size and scale of the event. Not only will a visitor be amazed at the amount of food choices available for consumers, but the amount of options available for meat and dairy.

All major exporting countries have a substantial presence at the event, generally under a national umbrella.

One thing that remains remarkably consistent is the promotional theme for agri produce - all countries promote a clean, green image for their produce alongside their sustainability story.

Being a country that exports 90% of its agri food production makes participation in SIAL a must and it is over to Bord Bia and the participating companies to make sure the Irish story is told and heard by buyers over the coming days.