analytica Vietnam 2015 Focuses on Food and Medication Safety

Modern analysis techniques and scientific quality controls have a permanent place in everyday life. Analysis is also expected to play an important role in Vietnam in the next few years, particularly in the food and pharmaceutical sectors, two of the country's rapidly growing branches of industry. Vietnamese and international exhibitors will present the latest products and solutions in the sectors for laboratory technology, analysis, biotechnology and diagnostics at the fourth edition of analytica Vietnam, which takes place at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City from 15–17 April.

Vietnam's markets for pharmaceuticals and food are growing. Vietnam's pharma sector in particular is considered one of the most rapidly growing markets in all of Asia: According to statistics from the Vietnam Ministry of Health, the pharmaceutical market in Vietnam was worth nearly three million US dollars in 2012 alone. Growth is expected to increase to more than 20% by 2017. When it comes to these branches of industry in particular, the Southeast Asian threshold country depends very strongly on imports. For example, Vietnamese pharma manufacturers currently import some 90% of all needed active ingredients and excipients (worth US$ 308 million in 2013). According to the Vietnam Ministry of Health, however, domestic production is expected to cover up to 80% of demand by the year 2020.

As an additional step, the Vietnamese government has compiled a master plan for developing the biotechnology sector. The main objective is to promote the ongoing development of the sectors for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, environmental protection and healthcare between now and 2020. At the same time, demand for food from Vietnam remains undiminished: According to Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), Germany’s economic development agency, more than 20% of the country's entire industrial output can be attributed to this export sector.

As a result, analysis will play a significant role in Vietnam during the next few years. In nearly all manufacturing and packaging processes, highly specialised equipment that is normed for minimal particle sizes is used to guarantee safety and quality. Strict regulations and standards in the industry are subject to constant change due to scientific progress, demographic developments or societal factors. The latter in particular have an effect on the population's consumer behaviour and, ultimately, on the demands that are placed on a product.

For countries like Vietnam that are also extremely reliant on imports and must deal with the challenges of globalisation, issues such as reliable quality controls take centre stage. After all, the challenge of depending on imports is that not all imported products bear witness to high quality, as recent events have demonstrated. Imported contaminated fats and residues of pesticides on fruit upset the population and call quality and hygiene claims into question.

In keeping with food safety legislation that was passed in July 2011, the quality of imported as well as domestically manufactured products is tested and analysed. Consequently, the need for modern laboratory and analysis equipment continues to grow. Add to that the fact that large parts of Vietnam lack sufficient mechanisms for the safe disposal of wastewater, and also have a shortage of drinking water. Modern techniques in the water-analysis sector can counteract these problems. In other words, once again Vietnam is relying on investments in efficient technologies.

Domestic and international exhibitors present their solutions at analytica Vietnam. With 114 exhibitors from ten countries and more than 3,400 trade visitors, Vietnam 2013 confirmed its role as the leading trade fair for the Vietnamese laboratory-technology, analysis, biotechnology and diagnostics industry. Its target groups includes users and decision-makers in the chemical, medical, food, environmental and pharma industries as well as industrial and government research.

Plans for the coming year are already moving ahead at full speed. Germany and France have confirmed that they will each have a joint exhibition stand. A number of Vietnamese companies will be represented, including a growing number of subsidiaries of leading international manufacturers. This development underscores Vietnam's importance in the global context as well as the upturn of the local market. Ho Chi Min City, the country's commercial centre, is the most important industrial location and, thus, an ideal starting point when it comes to making new contacts in the industry.

As in the past, the analytica Vietnam Conference is being held at the same time as the fair and under the guidance of Professor Oliver J. Schmitz (pictured) from the University of Duisburg-Essen. Experience has shown that the program of events including presentations from international and Vietnamese experts will ensure that the conference is standing room only. Among other things, Dr Schmitz, a professor of applied analytical chemistry, is developing product-testing techniques and working with globally active companies to research how substances in samples can be measured with greater precision in the future. Professor Schmitz is organising the program of events at the 2015 conference together with Professor Pham Hung Viet from the Hanoi University of Science and Professor Le Van Tan from Ho Chi Minh City University. It will revolve around lectures on food analysis, pharmaceuticals, environmental analysis, chromatography and mass spectroscopy. As in the past, the conference will also feature practice-oriented workshops and tutorials where renowned scientists will present the latest research findings and user solutions.

analytica Vietnam 2015 is organised by Messe München International (MMI), its subsidiary IMAG (International Fair and Exhibition Service) and the National Agency for Science and Technology Information (NASATI).

Additional information about the various events is available online at www.analytica.de.