Bangkok’s feed show gets a VIV flavour
Every other year, the international agricultural community usually gathers in Bangkok, Thailand for VIV Asia. At least, that was how it was until March 2019. As from this year, however, VIV tags on to that other biennial agricultural show Victam Asia. What to expect of the first Victam-VIV combo in Thailand, late March?
Traditionally, in the years that VIV Asia is not held, the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC) is the venue for a different international trade show, being Victam. Here animal feed production is mostly key; for the majority of pig producers this event may not always been foremost in their minds.
Presenting the shows as parallel platforms at the same time within the same venue is a great way to bring together two strong brands for the Asian market,…” -Sebas van den Ende, Victam International
As from 2020, that might all change. No doubt spurred on by the ongoing success of the trade show VIV Asia, its organiser VNU Exhibitions has struck a deal with the Victam show organisers to join forces and beef up the feed show this year. Initially, VIV announced that it would hold a separate ’Health and Nutrition’ event in January 2020, but later it was decided that a co-location with Victam Asia might be even a better option, to be held 24-26 March. The name of the combined event is ‘Victam and Health and Nutrition 2020’. Combining the themes of health and nutrition, the event connects two themes that are becoming increasingly linked, because of the growing pressure to reduce the usage of antibiotics in animal nutrition.
Our own activities in Asia have gained significantly in importance over the past few years and we view the partnership for the March 2020 Bangkok event as a major next step in better serving the region.” – Heiko Stutzinger, VIV
Sebas van den Ende, general manager of Victam International, explained: “Presenting the shows as parallel platforms at the same time within the same venue is a great way to bring together 2 strong brands for the Asian market, in an integrated format so that the visitor experiences them as a single event. It is certainly a much more convenient concept for the industry than the original plan of staging them separately in Bangkok, only months apart.”
Heiko Stutzinger, director VIV worldwide and managing director VNU Exhibitions Asia-Pacific added, “Our own activities in Asia have gained significantly in importance over the past few years and we view the partnership for the March 2020 Bangkok event as a major next step in better serving the region.”
Apart from the Victam and the Health and Nutrition components, the show also houses Grapas Asia 2020, displaying technology for rice, grain and flour milling.
What to expect?
Exhibiting in halls 100-102 of BITEC, the entire event gives exhibitors access to a targeted audience of over 9,000 professional visitors, 400 exhibitors in a 17,800 m2 space. The show comes with a wide range of feed-related side events, as well as a range of conferences organised by e.g. the Animal Husbandry Association of Thailand, the Thai Swine Veterinary Association and various international media titles.
Noteworthy among the larger side-events is a partner event in cooperation with the Asian Food and Feed Insect Association (AFFIA), called ‘Insect Protein for Animal Feed’. This seminar, on March 24, will provide a comprehensive perspective on the state of the industry and recent research findings regarding the nutritional properties of insect products across key application domains including aquaculture (fish and shrimp), poultry, pigs, and pet food. New industry research results on digestibility and palatability will also be presented.
In addition, the event will also host the International Feed Technology Conference (IFTC), a follow-up from a first edition of this conference during Victam International in Cologne, Germany in 2019. This congress, organised by Victam and Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands, will be held on March 24 as well.
