MANILA – The International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines, Asia’s ethnic food and ingredient show, welcomes every food buyers and enthusiast as it opens for its 11th edition on Friday, May 19, until May 21 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) and the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC).
IFEX Philippines is the country’s biggest export-oriented food show and one of the official trade events of the 30th ASEAN Summit. It organized by the Department of Trade and Industry-Center for International Trade Exhibitions and Missions of (DTI-CITEM).
Under the theme “Taste ASEAN,” IFEX Philippines will gather over 700 international and local food companies to demonstrate new bonanza of Asian flavors, product offerings, and food innovations.
The three-day trade event will also host live cooking demonstrations and seminars of food experts, artisans, chefs, culinary historians, and gourmet enthusiasts from across the globe, each bringing along distinctive product offerings, knowledge, and skills at the much-awaited gustatory fete.
“For this coming May 19-21, buyers and visitors will saunter through a deeper experience and understanding of Philippine food through its multi-faceted origins in history, geography, and culture. It’s going to be one unique and exciting journey for all our visitors,” DTI-CITEM Executive Director Clayton Tugonon.
Gastronomic Adventure Across the World
IFEX Philippines will house four major exhibition halls, namely the Food Philippines Hall, International Hall, Food Artisans Village, and The MarketPlace—making up a spectrum of flavors from all over the world.
The Food Philippines Hall features the top and emerging Philippine exporters and business support organizations (BSOs) in the food industry. Here, buyers will be able to sift through the mainstream, as well as the latest product offerings, from the Philippines’ leading and promising brands.
Meanwhile, the International Hall presents the top food products and ingredients from top companies and manufacturers across the world. It will feature renowned firms from ASEAN countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Viet Nam. Also featured are leading companies from EU and other countries, such as China, Japan, India, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey.
Enlisted in the year-long events roster of the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, IFEX Philippines will have dynamic presentations of Southeast Asian food under its two ASEAN-themed special settings: TASTEASEAN Pavilion and ASEAN Top Brands Showcase.
“IFEX Philippines will take global trade buyers and visitors in a gastronomic overdrive that will not only satisfy their cravings for various Asian flavors, but also their thirst for a dynamic experience of the Philippine food culture, which had evolved from centuries of cross-cultural fusions and regional influences,” said Tugonon.
CITEM Executive Director Clayton Tugonon welcomes everyone to taste San MiguelMagnolia ice cream’s new line of products formulated from homegrown, beloved tropical flavors, such as mango, avocado and ube.
IFEX Philippines also features the EU Pavilion which celebrates the economic relationship between the Philippines and the European Union (EU) since the 1980s. It features the top brands and products from EU states, including Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, and Poland.
Globally Competitive Agri-products
Buyers and visitors can also relish the various local flavors and visual treats from different provinces in the Food Artisans Village, presented by the Department of Agriculture, through the Agribusiness Marketing and Assistance Service (DA-AMAS).
Among the special settings under Food Artisans Village are the Negros Occidental Pavilion and the Mindanao Pavilion, featuring the native and iconic delicacies of Negrenses and Mindanaoansas part of efforts to protect, preserve and promote the heirloom flavors and culinary tradition in the Philippines.
Found in the Food Artisans Village are the Commodity Pavilion and Seafood Pavilion, highlighting the country’s high-demand export commodities such as tuna, rice and cereals, coffee, cacao, coconut, pineapple, banana, and mango—in many varieties and cultivars. IFEX Philippines also put up the Bread Alley exhibit to showcase the country’s rich bread-making culture.
Inspiring Food Innovations and Seminars
Another exciting special setting is the Food Innovation Gallery, which is a highly curated exhibit of products developed through the modern machinery of local Food Innovation Centers (FICs), under the Department of Science and Technology- Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI).
The exhibit spotlights the products developed under FIC’s food processing equipment, namely freeze dryer, vacuum fryer, spray dryer and water retort for thermal processing. Products developed include fruits, fruit mix, vegetables, broth, condiments, legumes, nuts, tuber and other rice-based products.
For those in want of more inspiration and adventure, the three-day export event will also conduct cooking demonstrations of celebrated international and local chefs under Summit of Flavors @ IFEX Kitchen. It will also conduct free food and beverage tasting activities.
Buyers and visitors can also take part in a series of exciting and engaging discussions on the latest trends and innovations in the food industry with renowned experts, researchers and lecturers, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), Department of Agriculture (DA), Management Association of the Philippines – AgriBusiness and Countryside Development Foundation, Inc. (MAP-ABCDF), the Organic Coconut Association of the Philippines (OCAP), and the Philippine Wine Merchants (PWM).
In main photo, CITEM Executive Director Clayton Tugonon gives a thumbs-up on ground and roasted coffee ATOKAPE – 100% Benguet Arabica Coffee, one of the export products featured in IFEX Philippines. ATOKAPE is made from beans harvested by local farmers from the highlands of Benguet and Mountain Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
