Relying on its natural rivers and lakes, Hubei's freshwater aquatic products dominate the country; relying on the hub of the nine-province thoroughfare, Hubei spring tea is continuously transported to Guangzhou and Shenzhen… How can Hubei's food and beverages, which have a strong family background, reach the global dining table? Recently, the 2026 SIAL West Asia International Food Exhibition Hubei Media Think Tank Roundtable with the theme of "Jingchu Global Food and Beverage New Situation" was held in Wuhan. Representatives from many mainstream media gathered to discuss topics such as Hubei's food and beverage industry going overseas and upgrading local procurement channels, and sounded the "assembly call" for Hubei merchants for the 2026 SIAL West Asia International Food Exhibition (Shanghai), which will be held from May 18 to 20 this year.
West Asia exhibition site
At the roundtable meeting, a set of hard-core data about Hubei’s food and beverage industry attracted widespread attention. Today's Hubei is no longer limited to hot dry noodles and Zhou black duck. From Qianjiang crayfish and Suizhou mushrooms to Fangxian rice wine, Yingshan tea, etc., Hubei's specialty agricultural products and deep processing matrix have become extremely large-scale. Especially on the distribution and consumption side, Hubei is the core supplier of industrial-grade raw materials for food in China. In addition, cross-border innovations in local catering are emerging one after another. New business formats such as tahini coffee and cabbage coffee are showing vigorous consumption vitality.
Hubei food and drink at the exhibition
In the process of nationalization and globalization, Hubei food and beverage companies also have their own "growing pains", especially in terms of opening up market access to the country and even overseas, and formulating export standards and qualifications for high-quality agricultural products. They need a platform that not only understands international trade rules but can also provide accurate business docking to break the industry information gap.
As a leading international exhibition that has been deeply involved in the Chinese market for 26 years, SIAL West Asia International Food Exhibition (Shanghai) may provide a springboard for Hubei enterprises to borrow ships to go overseas. According to reports, the SIAL International Food Exhibition is highly focused on "B2B pure commercial trade" and will rely on the high-quality resources accumulated around the world to provide "carpooling" exhibition services for enterprises. This means that high-quality origin companies in Hubei can enjoy export standard guidance, quality control docking, and one-on-one matching with global target buyers at the exhibition site.
According to reports, "Jingchu Youpin" operated by Hubei Communications Investment Group previously brought 14 companies and more than 150 products to the SIAL International Food Exhibition. On the first day of the exhibition, it received more than 600 professional buyers and won nearly 70 intended orders. The cumulative transaction amount exceeded 30 million yuan, of which overseas orders accounted for 35%.
At the roundtable meeting, SIAL West Asia International Food Exhibition extended a sincere invitation to Hubei food buyers and distributors. It is reported that the exhibition will open at the Shanghai New International Expo Center from May 18th to 20th, with a scale of 200,000 square meters, 18 major themes, and will bring together more than 5,000 top exhibitors from 75 countries and regions around the world. Especially for the international high-end meat and frozen food sectors where the Hubei market is relatively weak, this Shanghai exhibition will bring the first new products from the pavilions of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Russia and other countries and regions.
(Photo courtesy of the event party)
