The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC – AHK) CEO Jan Noether said that Drupa fair, a leading international trade fair for print and crossmedia solutions, has received 260,000 visitors from 183 countries and more than 1,300 exhibitors on an area of 158,000 sqm, including approximately 200 Egyptians.
Noether added that the exhibition in 2020 will also host more than a thousand visitors from Egypt, mentioning that a special Egyptian day will be organised during the exhibition.
Drupa 2020 in Dusseldorf is held every four years in Messe Dusseldorf. The upcoming edition’s dates are set between 16 and 26 June 2020. During Drupa, renowned representatives from the entire global printing and crossmedia industry will present their products and services. These include printing, packaging, and multichannel solutions. It is the largest exhibition in the world in this field.
During a press conference held on Sunday, organised by the GACIC – AHK, Noether emphasised that more than 50% of visitors will come to the exhibition with specific investment projects.
He added, “The fair exceeded all expectations, and the reactions of the visitors were incredibly positive, they benefited from all live shows.”
For his part, Chairperson of the Chamber of Printing and Packaging Industries at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) Ahmed Gaber said that the printing sector in Egypt serves different industries, and that digital printing has improved dramatically recently, indicating that there are more than 7,000 presses in Egypt registered in the chamber. About 650 out of them are digital.
He emphasised that the Egyptian government supported the printing sector and reduced most of the sector’s tariffs and customs.
He further elaborated that the government has strongly supported the advertising and printing industry by reducing customs duties from more than 35% to only 5% on all industry requirements. Besides, reducing most tariffs on raw materials and inputs resulted in lifting customs duties on major industrial components including various types of printing machines, equipment, and spare parts, and these products were previously subject to fees ranging from 6% to 21%.
