ZANZIBAR DAZZLES IAOM MEA DELEGATES

from Milling Middle East & Africa - Nov/Dec 2022

BAKELS - QUALITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE

The milling industry’s leading trade show was hosted in Zanzibar for the first time

The IAOM Middle East & Africa Conference & Expo was successfully hosted in the eastern African nation of Zanzibar in late October 2022, bringing the region’s leading industry stakeholders to network and learn about the latest technologies and trends that they could tap into as they seek new growth opportunities in 2023 and beyond

Held under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, the President of Zanzibar, who officially opened the event, the 4-day trade show was attended by nearly 600 delegates from across Africa, Middle East, Europe, Australasia and the Americas, with a mix of conference sessions, networking activities and an Expo Hall showcasing the latest technologies from regional and global suppliers to the milling industry.

ZANZIBAR’S ADVANTAGE

The conference and expo celebrated it’s coming back to Africa in style, with the 2022 Conference Chairman Mounir Bakhresa, who is also the Managing Director & CEO of Bakhresa Grain Milling, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe & South Africa welcoming the delegates to the conference and to Zanzibar. He urged delegates to take some time to savour the unique attractions Zanzibar offers: beautiful, white sandy beaches, turquoise water, friendly people, and abundant business opportunities.

During the packed opening ceremony, President H.E. Dr. Hussein Mwinyi welcomed the delegates and urged them to consider investing in Zanzibar, adding that the country offers unique opportunities not only in tourism and hospitality, but also manufacturing and other industries.

IAOM MEA partnered with the award-winning Hotel Verde Zanzibar, which is one of the greenest hotels in the island, to host the event, with the hotel hosting the conference sessions, lunches and the expo. The other networking evening activities were hosted at some of Zanzibar’s unique attractions.

Conference Program

The conference program offered at the event offered several topics of interest and value to the industry stakeholders in attendance, with some of the best attended sessions being on the daily commodity trade issues, considering the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war and rising inflation and food costs globally.

The opening session panel discussion brought together Dan Basse, the President & Founder of AgResource; Jean-Francois Lepy, CEO Soufflet Negoce by InVivo; Andreas Rickmens, the COO Ameropa AG; Reinier van Hanswijck, Senior Marketing Manager - Grains, Viterra and Rowan Barbeau, Senior Manager, Bunge South Africa to talk on the topic “Wheat Caught in the Geopolitical crosshairs of the Black Sea and World Food Inflation: What Next?”

The third day panel discussion, which was titled Middle East & East African Wheat Market Outlook: Demand Growth meets tightening Global Exporter Supplies had Dan Basse, the President & Founder of AgResource; Mounir Bakhresa; James Wild, Managing Director, Wild Agri DMCC; Ibrahim AlHazaa, the Executive Director, Al-Hazaa Investments Group; Rajiv Nigudkar, the Head of Trading, Al Ghurair Resources and Jeffrey McPike, Analyst at WASEDA Commodities LLC., discussed on this touchy subject matter to a full house of delegates.

Apart from the panel discussion sessions, the conference sessions had daily technical sessions, including on such topical issues such as new technologies in instant noodles and maize milling (Buhler), using local grains in volatile wheat markets (Muhlenchemie), quality control of wheat and starch (Brabender), next generation milling systems (Alapala), new pasta process technologies (FAVA SpA.), and the right strategy for storage to boost food security (PETKUS).

Other sessions included presentations on long spaghetti processing (GEA), reinventing the mill (Omas), open-mouth bags with valve bag filling technology (Behn+Bates) and flour excellence sessions addressed by Eurogerm, AIT Ingredients, Mirpain and Bakels East Africa.