Tea & Coffee show in Hyderabad

Over 200 exhibitors from about 25 countries including the US and Canada are expected to take part in the three-day ‘Tea & Coffee World Cup Asia’ to be held at the Hyderabad International Trade Expositions (Hitex) exhibition centre here from Thursday.

According to Rob Lockwood Jr, executive director of Lockwood Publications, which is organising the event, the exhibitors include suppliers of equipment, machinery, supplies and services, producers of tea and coffee products, international exports and importers of raw product.

The exhibition was held in China last year. “So, it is only logical that the next should be held in India, the other billion-person market which is growing just as dynamically, with vast opportunities for international and local players in the tea and coffee business,” Lockwood told mediapersons here on Tuesday.

 

Hitex chief operating officer, Sanjay Kapoor, said the company’s exhibition centre was almost booked for the next two years. “Our occupancy rate has increased from 20 per cent last year to 50 per cent at present,” he said.

Kapoor said the occupancy rate of Hitex would not be affected on account of the current economic slowdown as holding exhibitions was the cheapest way of marketing by companies when compared with the costs of advertisement.

He said Hitex revenue would go up to Rs 20 crore next year from Rs 13.5 crore in the current year. The number of exhibitions to be held at Hitex would touch 35 in 2009-10 as against 18-22 this year.