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Published on February 23, 2008

Piya Chongvatana, managing director, said the company had successfully participated in four trade fairs in the Middle East last year. New orders for the company from the fairs increased by 20 per cent, and further new orders are anticipated. The four fairs were Iran Food, Food and Hotel Arabia, Gulfpack and Dubai International Seafood Expo.

"Those attending paid sufficient attention to our products. In the latest, we set up the milk pasteurizer in a factory in Saudi Arabia, for a contract worth Bt14 million. The factory owner filed the order following participation in the Gulfpack trade fair in Dubai," he said.

He said the company would focus more on the Middle East because the region's economy is growing. Patkol aims to provide more products for the ice-cube and ice-block-making market, as well as focusing on cold-storage rooms and freezing systems, dairy and beverage industries and canned food. Canned-tuna plants would also be in focus following the company's experience in the building of the Horizon Fisheries plant in the Maldives, said Piya.

"We target overseas revenue to grow 25 per cent a year," he said.

Piya said that the company's agents in Indonesia have also secured new clients for the company. Indonesia is a major exporter of seafood to the United States and Europe.

Patkol plans to attend 13 national trade fairs in 11 countries this year, starting with the Gulf Food fair, which will start in Dubai tomorrow. Besides conducting negotiations with potential clients, the company will also introduce a website that has been developed specifically for the Middle East market.

The Nation