Full VIV MEA programme features content-rich seminars

VIV MEA 2016 will be rich in valuable business information for animal protein producers when it opens in February in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The new show takes place 15th-17th February 2016 and is dedicated to serving animal protein providers from the Middle East and Africa to Turkey, Iran and the countries of the Indian sub-continent.
Covering the animal proteins spectrum
Already sure to be the Middle East region’s largest trade fair on modern poultry production and processing, the event will also give significant attention to the dairy milk sector and to aquaculture.
What is more, the schedule features a highly informative programme of seminars and conferences on different animal proteins, prepared in association with media partners and technical leaders.
From health and feed to industry structure
On Sunday 14th February, International Poultry Production/International Hatchery Practice presents a full-day knowledge session for poultry managers on topics including how to give chicks a healthy start. A parallel presentation on the same day by Perendale’s International Aquafeed will provide a short course on manufacturing aquaculture feeds.
The morning of Monday 15th February brings a Global Milling conference from magazine Milling & Grain alongside a Watt Global Media poultry seminar that covers broiler production and trade issues in the Middle East/Africa region. The afternoon sessions include a seminar sponsored by the Dutch Poultry Centre to look at some egg quality issues and Middle East Agrifood Publishers MEAP teaming up with the World’s Poultry Science Association to discuss commercial and scientific trends in poultry production.
For the morning sessions of the conference programme on Tuesday 16th February there is a Reed Business International focus on poultry health and an International Dairy Topics seminar that asks “Upsizing — Is it the way forward?”. Vertical integration in the dairy supply chain is the theme for a Global Dairy Farmers afternoon session while International Meat Topics runs a discussion on how to meet the meat safety challenge.
Registration numbers reflect great interest
Exhibition space for VIV MEA 2016 was fully booked in just eight months, with the leading global suppliers to the animal protein sectors showing their support. In total there will about 270 exhibitors with stands in three halls of the Abu Dhabi national exhibition centre (ADNEC).
The strong worldwide interest in this first-ever VIV MEA has been demonstrated further by the number of people registering in advance to attend the event. A preliminary count at the start of 2016 found individual pre-registrations from 84 countries. Almost 70% of applications had come from countries in the Middle East with Asia and another 9-10% were from Africa. The other large segment involved applications from Europe and Russia, but South America, North America and Oceania were also represented.
Top Ten countries for advance booking
“The early indication is that we will have most pre-registrations from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia,” says VIV shows manager Ruwan Berculo. “The other countries in the Top Ten are Egypt, India, Iran, Sudan and Jordan. I think it shows that we have succeeded in promoting the appeal of the inaugural VIV MEA as being for an extended region of the world, so that it is well on course to become the third international hub in our portfolio of business events for the animal protein sectors, alongside VIV Asia and VIV Europe.”
As well as the pre-registered individual participants, Berculo continues, the show is set to receive special VIP delegations from over a dozen countries. Those confirmed so far will travel not only from the Middle East area (UAE, Iran, Turkey), but also from India and Pakistan, from further into Asia (China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand) and from Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan).
Preliminary estimates suggest that there will be approximately 4,000 visitors over the three days of the trade fair. The organizers expect that the largest number will come from the countries bordering the Persian Gulf along with Iran and Turkey. Another 25% or so are likely to be from African countries and around 10% from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Other events add to visitor appeal
VIV MEA 2016 in Abu Dhabi has the added advantage that it will be co-located at the ADNEC exhibitions complex with a world event which works with organisations including the United Nations and the World Bank in offering a showcase for innovative and sustainable technologies relating to food production. Known as the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture or GFIA, in 2016 this returns to Abu Dhabi for the third consecutive year.
Even more notable for all executives in the poultry industry is the opening of a conference on 17th February only a short distance from ADNEC. For the first time, the International Poultry Council is bringing to Abu Dhabi its spring conference of poultry world leaders. The conference is open to VIV MEA visitors who have IPC membership.
Moreover, across at the Dubai World Trade Centre between 21st-25th February there is the opportunity to visit the world’s largest annual show on food and related hospitality products. Gulfood in its 2016 edition will have more than 110 international pavilions in addition to several hundred stands featuring individual companies, providing valuable insights into food product developments for all Middle East businesses involved in animal protein production and processing.