The world comes to Manchester

Over 50 co-operatives from 35 countries will descend on Manchester as part of the ICAEXPO during Co-operatives United.

The ICAEXPO, which will mark the end of the International Year of Co-operatives, will be a once in a lifetime event and it is expected that over 10,000 people will attend.

Visitors will get the change to learn about many different co-operatives such as the world’s leading producers of maple products — from Canadian producers Citadelle; how co-operatives are playing an important role in the economic development of Asian nations and how NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd became Singapore’s largest retailer and helped to reduce the country’s cost of living.

Martin Plante, from Citadelle, visited the last ICAEXPO in Bangalore, India, and afterwards he said: “The show was everything we expected. So much so, we’ve already booked our space for the next exposition – 2012 in Manchester England!

“Food co-ops serve 100 million families world wide,” he added. “Citadelle’s presence at the show stems from the much broader goal of contributing to the development of co-op to co-op business on a global scale.”

The event has co-operatives from every continent in the world, many have made huge differences in the areas they work in, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited (IFFCO), is India’s leading player in the fertiliser industry.

IFFCO has made a substantial contribution to the efforts of the Indian Government to increase food grain production in the country, it has grown from 57 societies in 1975 to almost 40,000 member societies representing 55 million farmers.

“We are sure the forthcoming ICA Expo 2012 will further enhance significant co-operation among various co-operatives and provide an excellent platform for global co-operatives to expand their business worldwide”, explained Dr. Gopal Saxena, IFFCO Director of Co-operative Development.

The ICAEXPO will give co-operatives the chance to build new trade relationships and showcase their work to buyers and visitors.

• The exhibitions have proved extremely popular and space at the expo is nearly sold out. Co-operatives who wish to take part should visit www.icaexpo.coop. The ICAEXPO will take place over 31 October to 2 November.