IFAT Africa, one of the leading trade fairs for water, sewage, refuse and recycling across the African continent, has been cancelled due to ongoing uncertainty in the market as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic
Speaking on the cancellation, Suzette Scheepers, CEO of event organisers Messe Muenchen South Africa, stated that the event, which had been scheduled to take place at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 2-4 November 2021, will not go ahead this year due to uncertainty in the market and ongoing international travel restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Further supporting the decision to cancel the event is President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent announcement of the strengthening of restrictions as the country moves into its third wave of Covid-19 infections. Under these restrictions, all gatherings are limited to 100 people indoors, and 250 people outdoors.
“As a key pan-African industry event, IFAT Africa was scheduled to be co-located with food and drink technology Africa and analytica Lab Africa; a combined and broad-reaching event that traditionally brings together thousands of pan-African and international stakeholders for knowledge sharing and product discovery. However, due to the current circumstances, we concluded that we could not assure our valued sponsors, exhibitors and visitors of the usual levels of international engagement,” she added.
Scheepers thanks the partners, exhibitors and the IFAT Africa community “for their ongoing understanding and support during the challenges of the past year".
