SA companies return home after partaking in World Food Moscow exhibition

As a first time participant in any international exhibition, Director of Chill-E Organics, Tasneep Latib, was grateful for the experience she gained at the trade fair.

Companies that participated in the recently concluded World Food Moscow International Exhibition are hopeful that the trade leads they generated at the fair will develop into concrete deals.

As a first time participant in any international exhibition, Director of Chill-E Organics, Tasneep Latib, was grateful for the experience she gained at the trade fair.

“I am grateful for this extremely amazing experience. I was totally blown away by this opportunity but it was really worthwhile as I learned a lot and gained immeasurable experience. My red sesame sauce proved to be an instant attraction amongst the consumers at the trade fair. This was picked up by three companies which expressed keen interest in importing it to Russia,” said Latib.

Over 30 local companies returned home on Sunday after partaking in the four-day annual exhibition which concluded on Friday.

The group’s participation at the trade fair was funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) Scheme.

The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services and to recruit new foreign direct investment into the country.

The Head of Marketing and Exports at Rugani Juices, Wesley Browne, who participated in the exhibition for the first time, says he was impressed by the warm reception that the South African companies experienced at the exhibition.

“It was really a pleasant experience to be part of the trade fair. It was fulfilling to see how well the South African group was received as our stands were always busy.

“We are returning home with numerous solid leads from distributors, buyers, restaurants, retailers, and hotels from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus who have expressed interest in our products,” said Browne.

Managing Director of Koopmanskloof Wingerde, Rydal Jeftha, was participating in the fair for the third time with the aim of increasing the presence of his wines in the Russian market.

“I first came to Russia in 2016 with a trade mission to St Petersburg organised by the dti. That was when I made a breakthrough into the Russian market. My experience with this market is that South African wines are delivering very well in terms of quality and price.

“That is the reason I keep coming here in order to push for more penetration of the market. This year I have been approached by companies from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and China. This provides us with an opportunity to spread our footprint to new markets in the region and beyond,” he said. 

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)