19/04/2017: IPPE adopts integrated layout for production and processing

Hot on the heels of President’s Trumps election to the White House, IPPE 2017 opened its doors to the world of poultry, feed and meat production and processing

 

IPPE, which is an annual event sponsored by US Poultry & Egg Association, American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and North American Meat Institute (NAMI), is one of three key exhibitions serving the intensive livestock and feed industries globally and is critically important for the continued development in regions such as Latin America.

Unlike previous years it wasn’t the weather attendees had to contend with, but a new layout of exhibitor stands following the show’s move from its traditional Halls of A and B to Halls B and C.

That masked somewhat the impact – if any – of President Trump’s Executive Order excluding visitors from certain Middle East countries from entering the USA.

Whether foreign visitor numbers were up or down on previous years or similar, there was ample antidotal comment suggesting Mexican visitors were down in number although visitors from other Latin countries were clearly evident.

There was also a feeling that Asian and Middle East attendees were fewer. However, MAG’s end-of-show interview with Nath Morris, Vice-president Expo of IPPE for the US Poultry and Egg Association, suggested it was, “too early to tell if that is the case.”

“We’ve had three good days. I felt we had full isles on the first two days although the last day is always slower. We had over 32,000 registered visitors to attend and feedback from exhibitors say they had good attendees and good leads.”

“We also know from last year that we had over 141 countries represented among attendees. I haven’t looked at those numbers yet for this year, but the total number of registrants is almost 1000 more for international visitors this year as compared to last year.”

“It’s important that we all realise that this show not only has a huge impact on the City of Atlanta, but on the USA’s business world, the GDP and economic prosperity in bringing buyers to Atlanta to look at meat, poultry and feed equipment, their suppliers and their products.”

“If we close the gate to certain countries this will certainly affect our attendee numbers and the future opportunities they provide. And it will go on to affect our exhibitors, who might think that if they can’t get to these markets they might not be in the right place in Atlanta.”

When asked how total show attendees compares with last year, Mr Morris says the numbers are up. “We are about 1800 attendees up this year on last year.”

Read the full event review HERE.

 

The Global Miller
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