“The show represented the Russian market very well but the mood was dependent on the political situation and therefore not as positive as last year,” Sarah Schmidt, BASF marketing communication manager in Europe, told us.
With Russia’s movements drawing widespread condemnation and a call for trade sanctions from many European nations and the US, trade options with Russian firms may yet worsen.
Schmidt said the situation had deterred companies from attending the event.
“The show was smaller than last year but we think the political situation was the reason for that because some companies cancelled their participation one week before,” she said.
While multinationals like BASF attend the event, it is dominated by Russian firms and those from the former Soviet Union like the Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus.
“We had the chance to get really good new contacts and new ideas for the Russian/CIS (Russian Commonwealth of Independent States) market and looking forward to the projects coming up in the near future,” Schmidt said.
Other exhibitors at the show included a large number of Chinese suppliers, French suppliers Naturex and Nexira, Belgian firm Galactic, Bell Flavors & Fragrances (US) and Lonza (Switzerland).
Next year’s event is scheduled for March 17-19 in Moscow.