The HCM City FOODEX 2026 features hundreds of Vietnamese and overseas businesses in the fields of food and foodstuff. — Photo courtesy of ITPC

HCM CITY — The Ho Chi Minh City International Exhibition of Food and Beverage 2026 (HCM City FOODEX 2026) has opened at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre, providing networking opportunities for high-quality food businesses.

The event, to run from April 15 to 18, is organised by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City, the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City and other partners.

It has nearly 500 stalls set up by 350 Vietnamese and overseas businesses operating in produce, food processing, spices, beverages, technologies and packaging solutions.

A conference on sustainable food supply, B2B networking sessions between leading international retailers – including Lotte Group, AEON, Central Retail, Satra and Saigon Co.op – and food businesses and a cooking competition are also in the works.

A competition to make artistic 3D jelly cakes with more than 100 local and foreign artisans taking part, was held on April 15 in a bid to set a Guinness World Record for the “Largest Display of 3D Jelly Cakes”.

FOODEX 2026 is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors.

The annual event, held for the fifth time this year, is one of the most important trade promotion activities for the city’s food and foodstuff industry, and helps Vietnamese products access overseas markets and adopt international-standard technologies.

Nguyễn Lộc Hà, permanent deputy chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, said the city is the country’s largest food and foodstuff processing hub, and has been rolling out a range of policies and strategies to develop its food processing industry amid global integration.

It is enabling businesses to apply technologies and access funding and digital transformation and organising trade promotion activities, he added. — BIZHUB/VNS