SINGAPORE, March 15- As the second largest market for café and bars behind Western Europe, the Asia Pacific region presents a strong growth story, achieving a strong compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of five per cent between 2007 and 2011, says Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Teo Ser Luck.
“With these positive developments, the significance of this region will continue to grow because we have a growth of the middle class. People are becoming more affluent, income levels go up.
“There is room for a quality lifestyle. Coffee is very much a part of it,” he said at the opening ceremony of Café Asia 2013 and International Coffee & Tea Industry here today.
The two events were organised by the Singapore Coffee Association, the Singapore Manufacturers Federation and the Asean Coffee Federation. Teo noted that using the café and bars segment as an example, between 2007 and 2011, the global segment grew steadily at a CAGR of 1.6 per cent to reach US$489.6 billion. He said the culture of coffee and tea consumption is well-entrenched in the
everyday lives of consumers in almost every part of the world. With more than 15 Singapore-based companies participating in Café Asia, Teo said this event is also an important platform to help Singapore’s companies and homegrown brands to promote their products and services to regional buyers. He said the Singapore food and beverages industry includes some 6,453 establishments.
In 2011, this industry accounted for S$7.1 billion in revenue, of which a significant portion of about 20 per cent (S$1.4 billion) is represented by the cafe and bars segment.
BERNAMA
