Bangkok welcomes VIV Asia

The countdown has begun. Next March, Bangkok will again host VIV Asia, the biannual exhibition for innovative livestock farming. Not just that, this ninth edition of VIV Asia is expected to also become the place to be for aquaculture: everything about producing fish on a commercial and economical scale. And of course feed production is an important issue at the show. Literally, VIV Asia is supposed to cover everything from feed to meat.

 

Thailand has become an important player in animal production in South-East Asia. According to Khun Sinchai Ruengpaiboon from the Livestock Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, 3.2% of the country’s GDP comes from livestock production. Of this, the pig and poultry sectors count for 62%. To a significant extent, this is due to foreign markets, as Thailand has become an important exporter of poultry products. Despite the slowdown of the world economy, Ruengpaiboon expects an increase of poultry production in Thailand in 2009, compared to last year. Therefore, it is not without reason that organisers VNU exhibitions from the Netherlands and NCC in Thailand let VIV Asia take place in Bangkok.

 

The special theme of this year’s show will be on egg production, handling and processing. This theme, simply called “Eggs!”, will cover all aspects of egg production, both from the breeder as well as the layer angle, covering topics from collecting and hatching to handling and processing.

 

“Choosing the Eggs! theme seems fairly logical, as Asia accounts for over 65% of the global egg production”, says Christoffer Ernst, chief representative of Sanovo Staalkat in Asia. Ernst firmly believes that focusing on this theme will provide an excellent insight into what is necessary to take eggs further.

 

“Eggs! features a dedicated pavilion on the exhibition floor, a conference and a CEO forum”, says VIV Asia project manager Ruwan Berculo. The Eggs! concept was developed in close cooperation with key persons from within the industry from Europe, USA and Asia, united in a steering committee.

 

“The organisers’ objectives are to present innovative products and services to advanced top-end buyers, and to explain best practices and guidelines for production and processing”, explains Berculo. “We intend to turn it into a useful combination of education and new ideas for all stake-holders in the sector.” It will be supported by relevant global companies and institutions from the industry, e.g. Big Dutchman Asia, Egg Nutrition Center USA, Intervet/Schering-Plough, KU Leuven, Lohmann Tierzucht, Moba, Novus Thailand, Petersime and WPSA.

 

One exhibition hall will contain the Eggs! pavilion. This is an area showing and explaining the key issues in the egg production chain, the so-called ‘Eggtrack’. Leading companies in the field of production and processing will present their innovations there. The pavilion links to the Eggs! conference that takes place on March 12. The conference will be the meeting place for buyers, opinion leaders and scientists. The Eggs! CEO forum will close the day.

 

“The major challenge for Eggs! was to select themes that reflect today’s and tomorrow’s trends in the Asian-Pacific egg industry, as well as the needs of its producers”, says Berculo. “Firstly, the ‘Eggtrack’ of the complete production and processing chain has been developed as the basis for the pavilion and conference. Seven main themes have been selected from it. In the area of genetics the focus will be on breeding for performance. In hatching, we are focusing on the production of uniform and healthy day-old chicks. The focus in feed and nutrition is to be on bird performance and producing quality eggs.

 

Regarding layer housing, the key issue chosen relates to innovative housing systems for healthy hens and clean eggs. The health theme will cover the requirements for disease control to achieve the well-being of the bird. Egg processing will concentrate on processing for multiple uses. Lastly, we will be particularly examining the needs of packing stations by considering quality control for effective egg handling.”

 

Apart from the Eggs! theme, Berculo confirms that an increasing number of exhibitors from the feed and animal health industry will be present at VIV Asia. The number of exhibitors from these industries together already accounted for 50% in 2007, and this is expected to rise further for the upcoming edition.

 

He adds that the show will present 500 suppliers from the feed to meat industry from 32 countries and hopes to attract 20,000 to 22,000 trade visitors, from 70-80 countries. In 2007, 72% of the visitors indicated to be interested in poultry production. The 2009 show hopes to attract an even larger segment of nutritionists and veterinarians.