CAHE gearing up to be one of the world’s major shows
Mid-May is going to be a very busy month for the global ?livestock industry. While Europe and North America prepare for their own ?international events, a large part of China will be present at the China Animal Husbandry Expo (CAHE), in Qingdao.
By Vincent ter Beek
Judging from figures on its website, the organising China Animal Agriculture Association (CAAA) is aiming high, as in 2013, its 11th China Animal Husbandry Expo (CAHE) approached a global top ranking in the world of animal production shows. With a total of 60,700 participants, 1,426 exhibitors at last year’s event in Wuhan, the CAAA stated to have taken the fourth place after IPPE in Atlanta, USA, SPACE, France and EuroTier in Germany – the last attracting 160,000 visitors in 2012.
It will be interesting to see what the 12th edition of CAHE will score in this respect, to be held 18-20 May 2014 – and focusing once more on any kind of animal husbandry be it poultry, beef cattle, sheep, pigs or camels. Contrary to most shows outside China, the CAHE’s dates are fixed – it’s the location that changes. This is mainly to offer visitors and exhibitors from various parts of the country the opportunity to attend from time to time, as China’s animal production can be found virtually everywhere in the country’s East.
Given this, last year’s show in Wuhan, Hubei province, was held in an area which would not be considered to be the major hub of Chinese animal production. The 2014 event returns to Qingdao, Shandong province, where it was held twice before. The city is definitely not a random decision, as Shandong province, right in the middle between Shanghai and Beijing, is considered one of China’s most important animal husbandry provinces. Shandong’s yield of meat, eggs and milk together adds up to be about one tenth of that of the whole country. In addition, the province alone is home to about 300 veterinary drug companies, according to the CAAA website.
In Wuhan, 2013, several countries pre-arranged country pavilions, and in the Qingdao International Expo Centre this does not appear to be any different. For instance, France has announced to be present with a pavilion and so has Denmark, for the third time in a row. Their presence will be accentuated by a Danish Pig Summit and a Danish Day.
Side events
In the week around the CAHE, several other agricultural events are also planned. Just like last year, a Bio-Energy Show will be organised. This is held in cooperation with the German Agricultural Society (DLG).
The CAHE is preceded by four days of broiler gatherings, for instance, between 14-17 May. The Fourth China White Broiler Industry Development Conference and the Third Global Broiler Forum aim to address a variety of challenges the Chinese broiler industry is facing. These include overcapacity, the economy slowdown, weak market demand, and difficulty to educate consumers.
Most of these problems are related to the occurrence of various strains of avian influenza throughout 2012 and 2013.
[Source: Pig Progress magazine Vol 30 nr 3, 2014]
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