23.05.2026 / APACCCEEC representative visited the international exhibition SIAL Shanghai

In the period 18 – 20 May, 2026, Ms. Alice Pan, a marketing specialist at the Liaison Office and Permanent Pavilion of APACCCEEC in Ningbo, attended the SIAL China international food exhibition in Shanghai.

The trip aimed to promote APACCCEEC’s Central and Eastern European service platform at the Permanent Pavilion in Ningbo and to assess whether the exhibition was suitable for Central and Eastern European food, skincare, and wine producers to expand into the Chinese market.

SIAL (Shanghai International Food Exhibition) is one of the world’s three major food exhibitions. Founded in Paris in 1964, it is considered a “trendsetter” for the global food and beverage industry. Since entering the Chinese market in 2000, the Shanghai exhibition has become Asia’s largest and most international food and beverage event.

SIAL Shanghai attracts over 5,000 exhibitors from 75 countries and regions, with more than 180,000 industry professionals from 132 countries attending. The exhibition is held across a total area of 200,000 square meters and features over 350,000 food and beverage products.

At the SIAL trade fair, Ms. Alice Pan, Marketing Specialist at APACCCEEC, noticed exhibitors from Central and Eastern European countries such as Poland and Hungary had set up booths, primarily showcasing skincare products, jams, processed grains, and specialty beverages. Through conversations with exhibitors, she learned that Central and Eastern European products are gaining increasing attention at the Chinese market, particularly in the food service supply chain and imported food retail channels, where they possess a competitive advantage.

One of the advantages of participating in SIAL Shanghai is gaining direct access to the world’s fastest-growing consumer market. 48% of the exhibition’s visitors were looking for new partners, while 43% came with a specific purchasing objective. Notable among the participants are importers, distributors, buyers from major retail chains, and representatives of e-commerce platforms.

This allows Central and Eastern European companies to efficiently reach a large number of potential clients within just three days, saving the time and costs of years of individual client visits.

Based on the overall exhibition situation, SIAL is an effective platform for Central and Eastern European companies to enter the Chinese market. In the future, it is possible to organize Central and Eastern European companies to participate in the exhibition as national or regional joint pavilions, thereby reducing the participation costs for individual companies and increasing overall exposure.