Food, which has been the most important agenda of recent years due to the increasing world population, climate crisis and wars, has sought solutions with its entire production and supply network. In an attempt to find a solution to this quest, Istanbul will host YES FOOD EXPO & FORUM, one of the most important international organizations in the food industry, on 30 November-3 December.  

The events, which will be organized by BIFAS Fair and will be held at the Istanbul Expo Center on November 30-December 3, will make an indelible impression with its important themes. 

In his opening speech during the press launch of YES FOOD EXPO & FORUM, which aims to add millions of dollars to the industry and will be organized by BIFAS Fair, YES FOOD FORUM and TABADER Chairman Prof. Dr. Mustafa Bayram drew attention to the global food crisis. Prof. Dr. Bayram said that the "Food Crisis", which was experienced also in 2007-2008 and caused a global economic crisis, started to be experienced again in 2017-2018 and culminated with the pandemic. “With the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, this crisis has evolved into chaos all over the world. With climate change, the food crisis has reached its highest point. It is believed to continue until 2030. Here, YES FOOD FORUM will guide the whole world to get rid of the food crisis,” Prof. Dr. Bayram stated.

“WE ARE TRYING TO FIND AN INTERNATIONAL WAY OUT” 

Underlining that Prof. Dr. Bayram emphasized that because the problems experienced or to be experienced in food are worrisome, they, as YES FOOD FORUM, have been working for a while to organize the "Davos of Food" in Turkey. "This event has been designed as YES FOOD EXPO & FORUM (Istanbul) to become the leader of many works related to food and food equipment in the world, with the combination of YES FOOD FORUM and YES FOOD EXPO," Prof. Dr. Bayram said. 

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Bayram

“We aim to bring a new perspective to food with the responsibility we assume for the future with the Forum. Moreover, the reflection of a sustainable, safe, fair, environment and planet-friendly food system to the whole world forms our other goal. At the YES FOOD FORUM, leading stakeholders and academics of the food industry will discuss the challenges and solutions faced by the industry, and focus on new production and consumption trends. We have to reshape the new food system with the food industry,” Bayram concluded. 

“8.5-TRILLION-DOLLAR-INDUSTRY TO COME TOGETHER IN ISTANBUL” 

Giving information about YES FOOD EXPO&FORUM, which will bring the world's most important organization to life in the international sense, BIFAS Fair Chairman Ümit Vural said in his speech that the event, which has an international value, is an important organization that will draw the food vision for the world and bring millions of dollars to the industry.  

Vural expressed that brands will showcase their newest applications at YES FOOD EXPO & FORUM, which will bring the food industry together under one roof and said that companies will have the opportunity to introduce their most innovative products and the brands that want to stand out in national and international markets will have the opportunity to catch new business connections and partnerships. “The exhibition, which will increase the innovative capacity of the food industry, will bring millions of dollars of movement to the industry. With a size of 8.5 trillion dollars, the food industry is one of the most strategically important industries in the world," Vural said. 

“THOUSANDS OF VISITORS FROM 100 COUNTRIES WILL PARTICIPATE”

Stating that YES FOOD EXPO, will take place on 30 November-3 December at the Istanbul Expo Center, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from Turkey and abroad every year with its more than 25 years of experience, under the organization of BIFAS Fair, which organizes international specialized exhibitions in various industries, Vural said, “YES Exhibition will provide the opportunity to meet with thousands of visitors from nearly 100 countries of the world and to access companies."  

“DIGITAL FOOD, INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL FOODS WILL DRAW GREAT ATTENTION” 

“YES EXPO&FORUM, which will bring together all the stakeholders in the food supply chain from farm to fork, offers a wide range of products, digital foods and innovative products ranging from bakery products to meat and dairy products, confectionery, frozen foods, functional foods, organic products, innovative foods, geographically marked products, military foods, snacks, beverages, spices, vegan and vegetarian foods, and biotechnological products will be exhibited in many groups," Ümit Vural went on in his speech on the exhibition.   

'YES AWARDS' FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Vural said, “In the four-day exhibition, the participating companies will be holding workshops. It will make visitors taste its sustainable, innovative and delicious products developed as a result of R&D studies. The works of NGOs, startups and R&D organizations will be assessed and seminal projects will be encouraged. In the organization that is planned to be the most assertive meeting of the world and Turkey in the field of food and beverage and will bring together all the stakeholders of the sector, the latest trends in the sector will lay the groundwork for new products and new business partnerships."  

İsmail Gülle

TIM (Turkish Exporters' Assembly) Chairman İsmail Gülle pointed out that YES EXPO & FORUM is a significant event for Turkey and added: “In 2021, we reached 29.7 billion dollars with an increase of 22% in our exports of agriculture and livestock industries. Our strong performance in exports continues this year as well. In April, we exported 23.4 billion dollars with an increase of 25 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. In the said period, our agricultural sectors reached 2.8 billion dollars in exports with a 12 percent share. In the first four months of 2022, our exports exceeded 83 billion dollars. 11.1 billion dollars, which corresponds to 13 percent of this, was carried out by our agricultural industries." 

FOOD, THE MOST IMPORTANT AGENDA OF THE WORLD

In his speech, Ahmet Fikret Kileci, Chairman of GAİB (Southeast Anatolian Exporters' Association), emphasized the food crisis experienced all over the world and said, "The pandemic has shown us that food is the most important agenda of the world. We have to use our resources correctly."

Ahmet Fikret Kileci

Pepsico Food Safety and Global Process Authority and IFTPS Chairman Dr. Abdullatif Tay, GPD World Pulses Confederation Chairman Cem Bogusluoğlu, Future Foods and LWT Food Science and Technology, Director of Food Science Program New Zealand Prof. Dr. Siew Young Quek, Anbar University, and Dr. Saad Yousif Ibrahim participated the meeting online. 

YES FOOD FORUM CONTAINS QUITE INTERESTING TOPICS 

In the forum that will bring together experts and organizations at the international level, both locally and globally, topics such as new food systems, sustainability, green energy, food security, food policies and economics, water security, climate change, carbon footprint, green deal, food stocks, safe food production, global food logistics and innovative foods will be discussed and sessions will be held with a special agenda.  

At YES FOOD FORUM to be held at Istanbul Expo Center between 30 November and 3 December, important topics such as digital food, food crises and expected threats, global and national food security situations, food economy, world food strategies, global and national food security situations, pandemic-war-climate-food interrelations, national food policies and strategies, global food trade, food logistics, new foods, lifestyle and food, climate change and expected changes will be discussed.