Asia Fruit Logistica will head back to Bangkok, and is scheduled to take place at the city’s Queen Sirikit Convention Center on 2-4 November 2022, with organizers citing travel restrictions to Hong Kong and China the reason for the change of location.

The premier Asian produce trade show had last been scheduled for Hong Kong in September 2021 but was rescheduled for 2022. Now organizers said that the Hong Kong location was not viable, and and that it will now be held in the exhibition center which hosted the first ever edition of the event back in 2007.

In the statement, the event organizers said that the relocation is not permanent, but that Thailand was deemed the best location for an in-person event. 

“Asia’s fresh fruit and vegetable trade is desperate to meet in person again, and hosting Asia Fruit Logistica in Bangkok this year means we can put on a physical trade show,” said David Axiotis, executive director of Asia Fruit Logistica. 

Quarantine requirements for international travelers were a critical factor, as Thailand’s borders are open to fully vaccinated travelers with a negative PCR test.

But the statement also stressed that Bangkok is also a dynamic, vibrant city with the potential to host an international event of this magnitude.

Thailand is also a key hub for South-East Asia’s fast-growing fresh fruit and vegetable business, and presents fresh opportunities for visitors and exhibitors, Axiotis noted.

Thailand is a significant consumer of fresh fruit and vegetables; it is an attractive market for fresh fruit imports, with volumes up by 30 per cent year-on-year in 2020 to almost 700,000 metric tons.

The South-East Asian nation is also a powerhouse exporter of tropical fruits, shipping some 1.65m metric of tropical fruits in 2020. China took more than 65 percent of its exports. It means that many top Chinese companies have offices in Thailand to manage their sourcing.

Axiotis said Global Produce Events (GPE) is now going full steam ahead with preparations for the 2022 edition of Asia Fruit Logistica.

“It is a big job to bring together 800 exhibitors and 12,000 visitors from all over the world as we did for our last trade show in 2019. That’s why it’s especially important that we hit the ground running,” he said.