Exhibitors from 17 countries presented customized solutions
After the great success of agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa in Abidjan in 2018 and a long Covid-related break, fairtrade and their local Ivorian partners 2A were now back to Côte d'Ivoire and Francophone West Africa with agrofood West Africa 2024.
And the event was opened with great fanfare by the Minister of State, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production, H.E. Mr Kobenan Adjoumani.
Earlier, representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the ambassadors and economic attachés from Germany and Italy and the Association Ivoirienne de l'Emballage APECI had underlined their commitment to professional cooperation in their respective speeches.
agrofood West Africa took place in conjunction with plastprintpack West Africa in the brand-new Abidjan Parc des Expositions from 08 to 10 October 2024.
The 2024 edition was a highly international affair, with 78 exhibitors from as many as 17 countries presenting customized solutions for the Ivorian and West African markets. They came from Algeria, Austria, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tunisia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition to Côte d'Ivoire, fairtrade in West Africa serves Nigeria with the agrofood Nigeria, and Ghana with agrofood Ghana.
Aftermovie 2024
Let’s hear what the exhibitors said
Pierre-Alexis Lebeon
SBA Group
Alessandro Gerbino
ITA - Italian Trade Agency
Jean Zakka
Zakka Multitec
Amir Shafaei
Sunich Group
Impressions
Nouvelle Mici Embaci NME was the LEAD SPONSOR
Nouvelle Mici Embaci NME was the LEAD SPONSOR of agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa & Afrik'Embal 2024.
Founded in 1983, Nouvelle Mici Embaci employs 1,500 staff. A leader in cardboard packaging, industrial printing, cardboard boxes and polypropylene bags, NME's customers include major local and multinational companies in French-speaking West Africa. The company also has a high-capacity cardboard waste recycling unit. Find out more here.
Italy, South Africa and Taiwan joined in with official pavilions
ITALY Pavilion
For the first time, an official Collective Participation of Italian companies was presented featuring Italian exhibitors displaying their solutions and products.
- Presented by ITA Italian Trade Agency
- Supported by AMAPLAST, UCIMA and ACIMGA
Companies participating included Besser Vacuum, CISAO Camera di Commercio Italo Senegalese e dell'Africa Occidentale, Cusinato Giovanni, Duetti Packaging, Ecopack, ITA Italian Trade Agency, Miele, Sacmi Imola, Simex, Sodimax, Sud Capsule and Telm.
SOUTH AFRICA WESTERN CAPE Pavilion
Department of Agriculture Western Cape Government
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture of South Africa provides a wide range of development, research and support services to the agricultural community in the Western Cape.
10 companies of the Western Cape region showcased their products and solutions: Best Spirits of Africa, Enyi Gold, Jemaha, La Ricmal CC, Moedi Wines, Olyfberg, Painted Wolf Wines, Sesfikile Wine Services, Spicy Bulldogs, Winelands Pork.
TAIWAN Pavilion
TAITRA Taiwan External Trade Development Council
Founded in 1970, TAITRA is Taiwan's foremost nonprofit trade promoting organization. Sponsored by the government and industry organizations, TAITRA assists enterprises to expand their global reach.
Participating in the Taiwan Pavilion were Illinois Enterprises, Jandi's Industrial, Long Year Import & Export and TRAN Import & Export.
fairtrade and APECI launch cooperation
Afrik’Embal to be held alongside agrofood West Africa 2024.
In a groundbreaking move marking the 2024 edition and beyond, fairtrade and the Association of Packaging Professionals in Côte d'Ivoire APECI have forged a collaborative alliance. This synergistic partnership entails APECI's orchestration of the Afrik'Embal Exhibition concurrent with the agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa 2024 event by fairtrade.
Afrik'Embal is back after several years. The first edition was held in Abidjan in 2002 and the second in Accra, Ghana, in 2005.
The primary objective of this collaboration is to create valuable synergy effects for exhibitors and trade visitors alike.
Strong institutional support for
agrofood & plastprintpack West Africa and Afrik’Embal 2024
- Ministry of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire
- APECI - Association of Packaging Professionals in Côte d'Ivoire
- Embassies of Austria, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands and Türkiye
- Advantage Austria
- AHK - Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Côte d'Ivoire
- APO Africa Packaging Organisation
- BELUCI - Chambre de commerce belge et luxembourgeoise de Côte d'Ivoire
- Business France
- CEPICI - Investment Promotion Centre of Côte d'Ivoire
- FedA-CI
- ITA - Italian Trade Agency
The Ivorian & West African agrofood market
Côte d'Ivoire is the second largest investor in food & packaging technology in West Africa.
Why exhibit at agrofood & Afrik’Embal 2024 in Abidjan?
Food & packaging technology: Côte d‘Ivoire’s investments in food & beverage technology show an annual increase of 14.4%, from €68 million in 2017 to €152 million in 2023. As such, Côte d'Ivoire is the second-largest investor in food and packaging technology in West Africa, after Nigeria. (VDMA) See more
Packaging technology: Ivorian imports of packaging technology have risen from €24 million in 2020 to €58 million in 2023. (VDMA)
Food trade with Côte d'Ivoire: With a trade volume of USD 11.3 billion, Côte d'Ivoire is the largest food market in West Africa, ahead of Nigeria with USD 8.9 billion. According to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Côte d'Ivoire imported food worth USD 3.1 billion and exported food worth USD 8.2 billion in 2021. This makes the food trade with Côte d'Ivoire an 11.3 billion USD business.
Food & beverage ingredients: With a population of well over 450 million (2024), which according to the World Bank will rise to 800 million by 2050, West Africa is a huge food market. Expenditure in the F&B sector is growing steadily, and F&B production is by far the largest segment of the West African processing industry. Accordingly, the demand for food and beverage ingredients is rising continuously.
West Africa's food and packaging technology imports grew from €496 million in 2015 to €750 million in 2022, which corresponds to an annual increase of 6.1% between 2015 and 2022. (VDMA)