New Export Opportunities for Ukraine: Organic and Dairy Exporters at the International Exhibition SIAL PARIS 2024
From 19 to 23 October 2024 Ukraine is participating in one of the most prestigious international food industry events — SIAL PARIS 2024 exhibition. The National Stand of Ukraine (Hall 1, Stand A128) has brought together 26 exporters, including 11 organic and dairy exporters, who are exhibiting with the support of Switzerland within the Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).
This year, Ukrainian companies showcased a wide range of certified organic products that meet the high standards of EU organic regulations. These products included groats, honey, flour, flakes, vegetables, fruit and vegetable preserves, berries, fruit juices, and more. Dairy companies presented hard and processed cheeses, butter, cheese snacks, condensed milk, baby food, and other products that have already gained recognition on international markets.
One of the first positive news from the exhibition is that the Ukrainian producer of natural cheese snacks, Prime Snack (snEco), won the SIAL Innovation 2024 Grand Prix in the “Dairy Products” category.
Over 285,000 industry professionals attended the opening day of SIAL PARIS. In 2024, the exhibition gathered over 8,000 leading global buyers and more than 7, 500 exhibitors from 130 countries, offering Ukrainian exporters the opportunity to hold numerous B2B meetings with importers and distributors and reach preliminary agreements on exporting their products abroad. Notably, Ukrainian organic and dairy products attracted significant interest from international partners, who noted the high quality of the goods and their compliance with international standards.
Ukraine’s participation in world-renowned food and agricultural exhibitions such as ANUGA, BIOFACH, and the Middle East Organic & Natural Products Expo has already opened new opportunities for businesses and promoted Ukraine’s achievements in the organic and dairy sectors, resulting in numerous successful export stories. For many years, Switzerland has been an important partner in this process, providing systematic support to Ukraine’s organic sector (since 2005) and dairy sector (since 2015) through its State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), including facilitating the participation of Ukrainian exporters in international trade fairs.
Toralf Richter, lead trade expert from FiBL, the implementer of the QFTP,, commented: “Organising national stands at international exhibitions is the most effective tool for promoting exports and establishing business contacts for Ukrainian exporters.”
“Supporting the foreign economic activities of Ukrainian entrepreneurs is one of the key focuses of the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” (EEPO, Ukraine). We are constantly working to create opportunities for Ukrainian producers to enter international markets. Together with our partners from Switzerland, the EU, and the USA, we are facilitating the export of organic and dairy products, offering a range of services for both export-ready companies and those who are just planning export activities. Organising national stands at international exhibitions is a highly effective tool for export promotion. As part of this cooperation with international development partners, we have already organised the National Pavilion of Ukraine at the leading trade fair of the organic sector BIOFACH 2023, where Ukrainian companies signed contracts worth a total of €3.5 million. Similarly, at ANUGA 2023, deals worth €2.8 million were reached. Currently, in collaboration with our partners, we have organised the National Stand of Ukraine at SIAL PARIS 2024 — one of the most influential food industry exhibitions in the world. We are confident that this event will also yield fruitful results and open even more opportunities for Ukrainian exporters of organic and dairy products,” said Oleksii Grushetskyi, Deputy Director for Export Promotion, State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” (EEPO, Ukraine).
The exhibitors themselves emphasised the importance of such events for business development and increasing the presence of Ukrainian agri-food products on the global market. They also highlighted the significance of long-term contracts, which will contribute to export growth and the overall development of Ukraine’s agricultural sector.
The National Stand of Ukraine at SIAL Paris 2024 is organised by Ukrainian Food Association under the patronage of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, in partnership with the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” (EEPO, Ukraine), the state project Diia.Business, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Embassy of Ukraine in France and Nazovni platform, supported by:
- Switzerland within the framework of the Swiss-Ukrainian Program “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG;
- The European Union and the German Government within the international cooperation program “EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalisation”, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
