Exhibitors and visitors promised a smooth path to Docklands' venue IFE's move to the new ExCel exhibition centre in London's Docklands, with its proximity to London City Airport and good rail links, has whetted the appetite of international exhibitors. There will be 30 country and regional pavilions ­ 12% more than two years ago when IFE was last staged at the comparatively impenetrable Earls Court. And show organiser Fresh RM expects the new location to attract more visitors, too. Out of 38,000 trade visitors last time, 4,237 came from abroad. This year, the forecast is for 40,000, of which at least 5,000 will be carrying passports. Most of the regular overseas exhibitors operate within national pavilions, which include Canada ­ taking its biggest stand at IFE in 10 years ­ and the US, which has attracted major sponsorship from the US Department of Agriculture. The United States exhibit involves nearly 20 companies, with many lines making their UK debut. The American Market Place will be representing a number of small to medium sized regional manufacturers and looking to place a selection of products with UK distributors. Packaged nuts, dried fruits, mixes and snack items, olives, fine vinegars and oils are among them. There will be a range of pancake and waffle flour, frozen gourmet cheesecakes, organic pretzels, sauces, dips and breadcrumbs. The wide range of products available on the US stand can be gauged from one exhibitor, Americatessen, which alone will display bakery products, biscuits, breadcrumbs, breakfast cereals, cake mixes, canned goods, chocolate ingredients, condiments, chocolate confectionery, dips & dressings, ethnic foods, flour, groceries, pancakes, sauces, seasonings and syrups. Specifically from North Carolina will be Southern Produce Distributors offering sweet potatoes for retail and foodservice, while Maxwell's Gourmet Foods will display a range of nuts and confections. Newcomer Japan pushes out the sampan by taking its own stand (see box) and there will be greater emphasis on regionality with Gran Canaria, Sardinia, Sicily and Calabria taking independent pavilions. Food and drink from the EU is already well established in the UK retailers' repertoire, but products from the Italian/Spanish regions are the new cosmopolitan tastes. Spain and its food culture caught the media's eye last year and prompted a wave of consumer curiosity in speciality produce from the Mediterranean area. Behind the costas and chips lies a sophisticated and skilled food industry capturing more and more of the world market in value added products. Among them, Delaviuda Alimentacion will be launching its new range of chocolates in the IFE Spanish pavilion. The range includes rounds of chocolate encrusted with nuts and raisins, and an assortment of individually wrapped turrons and mini turrons. Meanwhile, Juoos Canarios brings fruit juices by Lambda. The premium, high fibre juices are exclusively packaged without colourants or preservatives and enriched with vitamin C. With more than £240m worth of Canadian products imported into the UK last year, it's small wonder that they regard the UK as the most competitive and dynamic food market in Europe. The Canadian pavilion will house a dozen exhibitors, highlighting a broad range of products, from fine maple syrups, Plats du Chef's gourmet cocktail bouchées, including pizzettas and other hors d'oeuvres, and escargots en brioche. Unibroue will show its bottle conditioned beers and introduce a hot cherry beer. Sleeman Breweries will offer its Sleeman and Stroh brands of cream ale and lager. Patisserie Yiangello will be exhibiting a range of gateaux desserts, while Maple Leaf Distillers will invite buyers to sample its liqueurs and other spirit-based beverages. Visitors looking for something different will be encouraged to sample Prairie Lane's berry topping and two new snack bars from JMK Manufacturing. The exhibit will be completed by Manoucher Fine Foods' hand-made breads being grilled into a range of sandwiches. Meanwhile, representatives from the Cyprus Trade Centre, together with executives of the participating companies, will be present on the Cyprus pavilion. Petros Mestanas, trade attaché at the Cyprus Trade Centre, says: "IFE is the largest single exhibition which the Cyprus government has invested in over the last few years. "It will give us the opportunity to tell the retail and catering trades about the diverse and interesting products from Cyprus available to UK consumers. AA Vouyiouklakis will display a range of cheese, trahanas and yogurt. There will be cheese and yogurt from both M Kalimera Dairies and Christis Dairies. The Cyprus Milk Industry Organisation and G&I Keses Dairy Products will both display cheese products, while Keo will exhibit wines, commandaria and beer. There will be a selection of frozen pasta, puff pastry, frozen pizza and wheat from Lisko Foodstuff, while novelty packaged and bulk ice cream will be shown by Papaphilippou & Patiseri Panayiotis Ice Cream. The products from People's Coffee Grinding Company include coffee, coconut delights, a sherbet drink, snack lines, biscuits, jelly powder and creme caramel. Not to be outdone by the new kids on the block, France will display traditional and speciality products, such as cheese, condiments, confectionery, poultry, dairy and organics. Among more than 20 exhibitors in the French pavilion will be bakery products shown by Forchy Patissier, while Aldquest and Brittany will exhibit beer and lager. Six companies will offer a wide selection of biscuits and cakes, while charcuterie will be on the stand of SA Jean Routhiau. There will be a range of cheeses -- goat's soft and vegetarian -- from two exhibitors, and three firms will show chicken products. There will be a selection of chilled foods, chilli paste, chocolate ingredients and cider across six stands, while coffee will be shown by three exhibitors. Confectionery, condiments and curry paste/sauce will be to the forefront, and numerous stands will exhibit dairy products. Also featured will be delicatessen and speciality foods, dips and dressings, alcohol, duck, ethnic foods, fish, frozen foods, herbs and spices, preserves, a wide range of meats, mushrooms, mustard, oils, paté, pastries, pizzas, poultry, ready meals, snack foods, syrups, vinegars and canned goods. One of Britain's closest neighbours, and a chief exporter to the UK, the Netherlands will be making its presence felt at IFE with a range of added value products, including Dim Sum Shrimp, a new pre fried dim sum mixed with shrimp filling from Slothouber Seafood. Packed in blue window boxes and available in two sizes with instructions in eight languages, it is squarely aimed at the growing British market in take home oriental cuisine. The Food from Sweden pavilion will be showing a mix of new products and established lines. The newcomers include Herrljunga cider and Direkt Chark AB salami snacks, while the established brands will be headed by Scan meatballs. Abba Seafood will exhibit its three ranges of Marina seafood in glass jars. The pickled herring selection includes six different varieties. Additionally, there are five caviars and six varieties of mussels. Direkt Chark AB will launch its range of Willy The Viking salami snacks, while Herrljunga Cider will be introducing its range of ciders to the UK market. The ciders are available in three flavours -- apple, pear and elderberry -- at 4.5% abv. Gillebagaren will introduce a range of gingerbread holiday hearts with holes and Scan Foods UK will be displaying its relaunched selection of meatballs. These are available in three varieties -- pork & beef, pork & mustard and chicken & herbs. All have a minimum meat content of 69%. Aside from the country pavilions, there are a number of significant others exhibiting in the international arena. The Consolidated Biscuit Company from Malta will display a range of biscuits under the Devon label including Morning Coffee, Rich Tea, Marie, plus plain and chocolate digestives. Laucke Flour Mills from South Australia will offer buyers a variety of bread machine premixes, including an organic selection. There will also be organic wheat thins for dips, plus vanilla and chocolate cup cake mix, and an instant fun sponge cake mix. Lamb Weston Meijer from the Netherlands will be showing a range of snacks, including seasoned crinkle wedges, crispy cubes, crispy slices, garlic onion and pepper wedges, and hash browns potato stix. It will also show three new lines, the first being the Munchers Appetizers range of piccolo and primo mozza sticks, beer battered onion rings, and cream cheese and cheddar cheese peppers. The other newcomers are mashed potato medallions and Tater Babies crispy snacks. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}