COLOGNE, 7-11 October 2023 – UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller attended the Anuga trade fair for the international food industry in Cologne, Germany. Anuga is the world’s largest and leading trade fair for the food and beverage industry and plays a significant role as an international trading and exchange platform. For the first time, UNIDO collaborated with Koelnmesse, the organizer of the fair. This partnership saw two high-level side events to discuss key challenges such as combatting hunger and the transformation of the food supply chains. In addition, through an exhibition booth, UNIDO showcased its agribusiness and supply chain solutions to highlight essential global themes and discuss possible solutions together. 

Director General Müller spoke at the opening of the trade fair alongside other high-level guests such as the German Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir. In his remarks, he stressed how nearly 800 million people worldwide are unsure of where their next meal is coming from. As Müller intoned, Anuga was a place to speak with key players in the international food economy about transforming the global food system. Reducing post-harvest waste, reducing storage losses, and better processing – are all keys to alleviating hunger. Agribusinesses and sustainable, fair food supply chains play a crucial role. In his opening remarks, he further stressed that the world has the knowledge and the technologies needed to produce enough healthy food for everyone. 

Müller opened the UNIDO side event entitled “A Worth Without Hunger is Possible”. It highlighted the urgent need for action and at the same time the various options that the food industry has at its disposal to address hunger in the world and to contribute to the attainment of SDG2. In his opening remarks, Müller highlighted that while 2 billion people suffer from hunger, malnutrition & undernourishment, a further two billion people struggle with being overweight or obese, while 500 million suffer from type 2 diabetes. This was indeed one of many issues addressed during the event. The panelists discussed possible solutions based on multilateral cooperation, improved policy coherence, and better functioning agricultural markets. 

The second UNIDO side event “Supply Chains at Crossroads: How to transform food systems without disrupting supply chains?”, was attended by Gunther Beger, Managing Director, Directorate for SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation at UNIDO. The event focused on the current challenges for resilience faced by the food industry. Examples included the recent COVID pandemic-related disruptions, the effects of ongoing conflicts, and the related interruptions in supply chains, for example, the Black Sea grain trade. 

UNIDO was proudly represented at Anuga presenting solutions on how the food industry has a key role in ending hunger through sustainable and fair food production worldwide. For example, by promoting further processing of food in developing countries with agro-food parks. The processing of agricultural products in developing countries not only has huge potential to create jobs but also increases export revenues and boosts economies. Local value creation, and the creation of decent jobs – that is our goal.