People crowd the 2013 FHC. Photo: Courtesy of China International Exhibitions Ltd

As China's demand for quality imported food and wines continues to soar alongside the accelerating development of import channels and product distribution, China's largest trade exhibition and platform for the promotion of imported food and wines, the Food and Hospitality China (FHC) - China's Global Food and Hospitality Expo - is returning to Shanghai from Wednesday to Friday at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

The 18th FHC for food and hospitality suppliers and the 2nd ProWine China for wine and spirits, will showcase 2,400 participating companies from 66 countries and regions, and offer buyers from hospitality, retail, import and distribution sectors a wider variety of food and wine from more countries and companies than ever before.

FHC, which spans over five major halls, has several specialist halls dedicated to specific sectors including meat, tea and coffee, ice cream, and olive oil - these have been identified as key growth sectors in the market.

The majority of the exhibitors participate in national or regional pavilions. This year there are 44 official national and regional pavilions, with Portugal, Iran and South Africa making their debuts. Brendan O'Connell Jennings, the general manager of the China International Exhibitions Ltd, which organizes the show, said the specialist product areas and national pavilions made it convenient for companies and people looking for particular products or national foods.

"With their different geographical climates countries have different advantages in certain products and therefore tend to sell them as national items. So you get Japanese rice, American milk and seafood from Australia at the FHC," Jennings said.

In addition, there will be competitions, training seminars and tastings throughout the five halls of the FHC. Some 400 chefs will compete in more than 17 different contests in the Culinary Arts Competition under the governance of the World Association of Chefs' Societies.

Online at FHC

"It is fascinating that although we have done the show for 20 years in China, it keeps changing. The market is changing, different influences come into play, and they all happen very quickly from one year to the next," Jennings said.

The new trend since FHC 2013, apparently, is the rapid development of online shopping for imported foods and beverages. FHC is responding to this trend by featuring the Online at FHC section where online food and beverage traders will participate for the first time in FHC history.

Two industry giants, Yihaodian and COFCO, will not only exhibit but support conferences where the exciting and rapidly growing market for online trading will be the key topics.

Jennings told the Global Times that the two companies said they would be more than happy to come to the show because they needed more foreign principals to represent. "This creates an exhibition within exhibition," Jennings said. "They are very important customers for the international principals who will be exhibiting alongside them in the show."

Jennings hoped the section would help raise awareness of online shopping opportunities in the market. "With an online channel that has such a wider exposure right across China than one importer perhaps in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, a foreign supplier can do far more than just sell in those big cities."

The Ultimate Barista Challenge (UBC) Russian star in action at FHC China 2013 Photo: Courtesy of China International Exhibitions Ltd

ProWine China 2014

ProWine China 2014, which takes place alongside the FHC, will present 665 participating companies from 45 countries, a 12 percent increase in the number of exhibiting companies and the debut of eight countries and regions including New Zealand, Macedonia and the regions of Catalonia in Spain and Emilia Romagna in Italy. The countries attending ProWine China with the largest number of exhibitors are France, Argentina and Spain.

The show will have many firsts with an extensive range of seminars under the ProWine China Education Offensive, from the ProWine Summit, a symposium with prominent international speakers, to the first-ever presentation in the Chinese mainland by the Institute of Masters of Wine.

There will also be three days of intensive education seminars by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, and a host of national and corporate meetings promoting regional wines. Mundus Vini, Europe's leading wine competition, will offer visitors the chance to taste and rate 150 of the leading wines from its 2014 competition. More than 35,000 trade visitors are expected to attend FHC and the ProWine from all over the country and Asia. "You will find a feast of products and new ideas on show," Jennings said.

US Pavilion

In 2013 US food, forest and aquatic exports to China reached a record $29 billion, double the $14.3 billion achieved in 2009. The deputy director of the US Agricultural Trade Office of the United States Consulate General in Shanghai, Roseanne Freese, said Chinese consumers, retailers, processors and wholesalers were buying everything from soybeans and distillers' grains to consumer-related products like wine, processed fruits and vegetables, chocolate and aquatic products.

"Chinese consumers are now accessing US products in more ways, be it from the expansion of e-commerce platforms and the growth of Chinese chain distributors to the expansion of the hotel and tourism industries looking to develop new food experiences using US ingredients," Freese noted.

A record 88 US exhibitors will participate in this year's FHC, which is more than double the 42 food and beverage companies that came to the show in 2013. They will be showing nuts, dried fruit, seafood, olive oil, fresh fruits and vegetables and all manner of beverages including wine, beer and distilled spirits.

"US producers are ready to meet Chinese consumers' demand for flavor, safety and seasonality. US farmers and manufacturers appreciate the Chinese standards for quality and good packaging that guarantees freshness," Freese told the Global Times. "Our soil, air and water quality and excellent industry standards combine to make brands that are reliable, offering a wide variety of nutritious foods, including walnuts, olive oil, fruit juices and snacks."

And at least 20 of the best US wine producers from California, Oregon and Washington states will join the ProWine Show. "It is a delight to see, wherever I go, US red and white wines being poured, be it at business lunches at prominent hotels on the Bund or at intimate dinners among old friends at Shanghai's local seafood restaurants," Freese said.

People crowd the 2013 FHC Culinary Arts Competition. Photo: Courtesy of China International Exhibitions Ltd

Spanish Pavilion

Spanish exports of food and wine to China have seen a robust growth this year. According to Eduardo Euba, the Economic Consul with the Economic and Commercial Office with the Consulate of Spain in Shanghai, the value of Spanish food and wine exports reached 360 million euros ($450 million) in the first nine months of 2014, a 13 percent increase on the first nine months of last year.

Euba told the Global Times that most Spanish exports were concentrated in three major sectors - pork meat, wine and olive oil. A particularly notable growth of nearly 35 percent was seen in pork meat exports in the first nine months of the year.

Of the 96 Spanish exhibitors at the show, there will be seven pork meat companies, 41 wine companies, and 32 olive companies. "The seven companies presenting pork meat are very high-value businesses, while in the case of wine and olive oil, there will be a large number of small family-run businesses," said Euba.

Euba said a wine revolution has been taking place in Spain. While the number of strong wine regions in Spain was very limited in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in the past 20 years the country now boasts 69 regions and some are producing top-quality wines that were unknown until a few years ago.

"Chinese consumers may find a number of wine regions that were completely unknown before. You won't find this in France or Italy, because there hasn't been such a shake-up - it's more or less the same landscape," Euba said.

Euba said that it was a good sign that Chinese consumers nowadays were not just focused on the three sectors but on a much wider range. Sectors that were not traditionally strong, for example dairy products (particularly for children), chocolates, beer and cookies, have become more and more popular, and they will also make appearances at the show. "Overall it is very strong," Euba said.

Austrian Pavilion

This FHC will see 28 Austrian food and beverage companies presenting culinary treasures including fresh and frozen meat, processed meat products, chocolates and dairy products. Austria's music culture will be reflected in the exhibits including violin-shaped liqueur flasks and "Mozart" drinks.

Raymund Gradt is the commercial affairs consul with the Austrian Consulate General in Shanghai and he told the Global Times that he had identified a notable growth in the number of Austrian wine companies coming to the show.

"We have many very small entities in Austria, very often family-owned, which we are very proud about, because this means perhaps they have been making it for hundreds of years," Gradt said.

Gradt said Austrian wine is special due to the uniqueness of the grapes and the micro climate. "What we like in Austrian wine is that you really can taste the micro climate in the wine - is it a sunnier or rainier year, is it a cooler night? Basically Austrian wines from the same winery are slightly different every year because of that micro climate," he explained.

He noted that some people consider Austrian wine expensive. "But, no - among the best wines, it is the best value."