The Foodex fair was held in Tokyo, Japan from March 7 to 10. This was INAC’s fifth consecutive edition there, this time with a 54 m2 stand, together with Uruguay XXI.
INAC was represented by President Conrado Ferber and Board members Joaquín Martinicorena and Eduardo Urgal, representing livestock growers and processors, and the marketing department was represented by Álvaro Pereira, head of Market Access, and Promotion specialist, Cecilia Shaw.
The stand was also shared by other co-exhibitors: three abattoirs and two brokerage and trader companies.
During the fair, the INAC delegation held several meetings, including Agriculture Livestock Industries Corporation (ALIC), INAC’s peer institute in Japan. Meetings were also held with marketing and market research agencies to learn more about the Japanese consumer. Finally, there was also an exchange of views with Japanese private sector players: importers and end users of Uruguayan products.
They are happy with the quality of Uruguayan meat and share an optimistic outlook regarding the possibility of intensifying imports of tongue, a product that received sanitary authorization a few months ago. Interest was also expressed in sheep meat, a product for which there is currently no sanitary clearance. The Japanese import almost USD 250 million of sheep meat per year, and that market is growing by 7% annually.
The fair also offered an opportunity for several side promotion activities.
On the evening of March 7 in Tokyo, there was a networking event – “Country Reception – Uruguay Japan, promoting public-private partnerships between the two markets”; this activity included a tasting of Uruguayan meats and wines at the ANA Intercontinental Hotel. This event was organized by the Uruguayan Embassy in Japan and INAC. Maki Kobayashi, Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Ambassador of Uruguay in Japan Victoria Francolino and the President of INAC Conrado Ferber addressed the audience at the event. Both the speeches of the authorities and the informal dialogues emphasized the good relationship between the two countries and their desire to continue building trust and deepening ties.
On March 8, a seminar was held at the Tokio Big Sigh fairgrounds, jointly organized by INAC and Uruguay XXI under the title: “Uruguay: land of high quality products”. The speakers were the executive director of Uruguay XXI, Sebastián Risso, and INAC’s head of Market Access and Intelligence, Álvaro Pereira.
