The international pig industry was looking forward to VIV Europe, held in April this year in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Volcanic ash clouds, however, closed European air space, keeping the audience away. Yet the show was interesting for those who managed to attend. They found many new and innovative products on display. And the atmosphere was good, with time for conversation.
By Ad Bal and Vincent ter Beek
The last time VIV Europe took place in the city of Utrecht was four years ago. Hence, at this edition everybody involved planned on making the best out of it. Around 560 exhibitors from 37 countries, supplying the global poultry and pig industries, were present and looked forward to meeting over 20,000 business professionals from around the world.
Due to an eruption of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, ash clouds hung all over Europe causing danger to all international air traffic, which is why most airports were closed. As a result, a number of exhibitors were unable to reach the Netherlands in time for the show. The Chinese pavilion for example, was empty. Yet over 85% of the exhibitors had managed to be on display. The larger exhibitors needed time to build their booths and had reached the fairgrounds prior to the closing of the airports.
Visitors from outside the Netherlands sometimes made extreme efforts to be present – some had to travel over long distances by car, bus or train. Show organisers VNU Exhibitions tried everything to get visitors to Utrecht, by offering free parking space, coffees and sandwiches on arrival. Despite the unfavourable situation, eventually over 10,000 visitors from 96 countries managed to find their way to Utrecht and experienced a good show.
Provimi launches one brand strategy After three years of internal preparation, Dutch animal nutrition company Provimi launched its one-brand strategy on the eve of VIV Europe. Ton van der Laan, CEO, Provimi, explained that the company needed this new strategy, called ‘Shaping Tomorrow’s Nutrition’ to better compete on a global market. In the past, Van der Laan said, Provimi had been ‘a decentralised business’, existing of many brands all over the world, all being strong in their own markets. Provimi’s corporate logo has been rebranded and only a reduced number of international brands will continue to exist, SCA NuTec being one of these. Provimi will continue to be strong in compound feed, feed additives and ingredients. |
Innovation for sustainability
The Opening Conference of VIV Europe 2010 focused on long term developments in the industry until 2020. In his opening speech, director Ton Otten of VNU Exhibitions expressed his astonishment about the fact that nowadays a kilogramme of poultry is even cheaper than a can of soda. In his view, this proved that poultry is a very affordable animal protein source. But he added that limits seem to have been reached.
Launching a plea for more leadership, Prof John Hodges, keynote speaker at the opening conference, said he wished to start a discussion on the search for sustainable production methods. He added that the current tradition of overuse is unsustainable and will eventually lead to breakdown. Future leaders have to be like animals before an earthquake, he said. “They start running – they hear it, they feel it, they have to feel the tremors of what’s coming – and take action.”
Dirk-Jan Kennes, Rabobank International, analysed the development of the global meat market and expects a 40% increase in the next 20 years. As soon as their income per capita surpasses US$2/day, consumers start eating meat, Kennes said. Rabobank expects the share of poultry to rise, pork to stay at a constant level and beef consumption to decrease. In addition, he said up to 2020, 70% of the growth of world meat demand will come from Asia. For inputs for feed, Asia will have to rely more and more on import from the Americas, while e.g. China will probably produce its feed and other products locally with input from various crops from the Americas.Finally, Gerda Verburg, the Dutch minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, stressed the importance of sustainability, saying that this concept is ‘at the root of a better world’. She added, “Sustainable forms of agriculture can prevent us from turning into the ultimate consumption society.” Verburg listed a number of future focused developments already available in the Netherlands, such as improved housing for poultry and pigs, renewable energy and recovery of fertiliser from manure. PP
At www.pigprogress.net a photo gallery and a section on VIV Europe provides more information.
Next page: Innovations, VIV Europe, Utrecht, the Netherlands, 20-22 April, 2010
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