HCM City (VNA) – More than 170 food and beverageproducers and distributors from more than 20 countries and territoriesworldwide are displaying their products at the 2018 Food Ingredients Vietnam(Fi Vietnam 2018) that opened in HoChi Minh City on May 16.

This year’s expo is 71 percent larger thanthe previous one (Fi Vietnam 2016), indicating the attractiveness of Vietnam’s foodand beverage market.

According to Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat,Business Director of Thailand’sUBM Asia - the organiser of Fi Vietnam 2018, the three-day expo will alsofeature international conferences and professional seminars.

The expo is expected to open up doors forcooperation between Vietnamese food and beverage enterprises with their foreignpartners, she said.

Ly Kim Chi, Chairwoman of the HCM City Foodand Foodstuff Association, said Fi Vietnam 2018 introduces state-of-the-artsolutions in the food industry, suggesting Vietnamese businesses take advantageof this opportunity to exchange experience and technologies.

She said the country’s food and beverage sector has enjoyed strong growth inrecent years. The market is expected to maintain its high growth rate in thecoming years and rank third in Asia, she said.

But now it has to import more than 80 percent of its food and beverageingredients since it is either unable to produce them or ensure consistentquality, she said.

A report of Euromonitor, a market researchgroup, reveals that Vietnamranks third in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in terms offood and beverage services.

With a population of about 93 million, morethan half of them are under 30 years old, the country has favourable conditionsto become one of the most promising food and beverage markets in the region,the report said. -VNA