SHILLONG, June 30 - One of the world�s largest food exhibitors, Salon International de l�Agroalimentaire (SIAL) has tied up with Meghalaya Government to hold a �Northeast Food Show� here in December this year.
The Food Show will be organised by the Government of Meghalaya with the support of SIAL. This would be SIAL�s second food show in the country after Food India in New Delhi scheduled in September this year.
The three-day event would be held here from December 4 to 6 at the NEHU campus. The State Government has notified an Advisory Council for the event and the first meeting of the Advisory Council was held recently.
Representatives of SIAL, North Eastern States, Central Government, food industries and others attended the meeting to give their inputs for the first of its kind event in the region.
SIAL holds one of the world�s largest food exhibitions in Paris, France each year. 119 countries participated in the last edition. 7,200 exhibitors and suppliers connected with the agri-food industry participated in the SIAL, Paris exhibition.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma visited the Paris exhibition last year and requested the organisers to hold the event in the North East to give boost to the food processing and the agro-based industries of the region.
Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong chaired the advisory meeting and later said the Government is grateful to SIAL for holding the show in the North East.
�The Chief Minister requested the organisers, SIAL, in Paris last year to hold one such event in NE. SIAL holds just one exhibition in one country, but due to the CM�s request they obliged and we are grateful,� Tynsong said.
SIAL holds similar food exhibitions in Jakarta (Indonesia,) Abu Dhabi (UAE), Toronto (Canada) and Shanghai (China). Managing Director, SIAL, Paris, Adeline Vancauwelaert said, the exhibition would provide a unique opportunity for the food products of the NE to be showcased to the world.
She further added that the hospitality industry would also get the required impetus. �Food products, food processing and hospitality industry would benefit,� Vancauwelaert said.
As of now it is not clear how many countries would be participating in the event, but expectations are high that South East Asian countries would be there in the event together with countries such as France and a few European countries.
Officials said that the diverse food products from the region would get a tremendous platform at the International event. It would also be a big learning curve for the nascent food processing units of the region.
Moreover, the local chefs and food enthusiasts would greatly benefit with their interaction with international chefs and other experts connected with the food industry.
