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12 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2017 (December / January) ENCOTECC Inc. USA +1 239 443 5074 Canada +1 514 800 2473 Europe +49 211 7311 5151 info@encotecc.com NEWS Puer Specialty Coffee Forum Announced China has emerged as one of the most promising producers of arabica and is developing a domestic coffee industry that already consumes more than Australia's coffee market. In 2015 the Yunnan International Coffee Exchange became the focal point of the local industry and is now hosting the first Pu'er International Specialty Coffee Expo & Forum to be held, Jan. 28-31. A tour of coffee producing areas follows Feb. 1-2. The event is co-sponsored by Coffee Quality Institute and includes a list of English speaking presenters. Simultane- ous translation for Chinese speakers will be available. The event takes place at the Pu'er Grand Theatre in Pu'er City. Participants have their choice of two tracks. Track 1 includes topics of interest to producers while track 2 will be relevant for roasters and retailers. Sessions include buyer introduc- tions and cuppings. A two-day farm tour, limited to 60 participants, follows. Registration is $400. The tour costs an additional $100. Ground transportation and meals are included. The confer- ence hotel is the Dream House where rooms are $75 per night. The forum will bring together more than 300 international and Chinese coffee industry professionals. Learn more: http://bit.ly/PuerSpecialtyCoffeeForum Food & Hotel Asia 2018 Food & Hotel Asia, the most comprehensive food and hospitality in the region, returns for its 40th edition from April 24-27, 2018 held for the first time in two venues – Sin- gapore Expo and Suntec Singapore. FHA anticipates its biggest-ever event with 4,000 exhibitors from more than 70 countries – an increase of 25% that adds 800 exhibitors. The exhibit halls total 119,500 sq.m. "FHA's growth reflects the changing landscapes of the F&B and hospitality industries in Singapore and the region over the decades," said Rodolphe Lameyse, project director UBM. The speciality coffee and tea exhibition will feature new competi- tions – Roast Master Challenge and Silver Spoon Challenge that test the skills of baristas from across the region. A two-day conference featuring industry experts in 10 tracks begins Apr. 24. Learn more: www.foodnhotelasia.com/fha-conference DMCC Begins Construction of Coffee Center The Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC) is con- structing a 7,500 sq.ft. temperature-controlled coffee facility that will offer world-class infrastructure and services for storage, processing, warehousing, and delivery of coffee to precise specifications. The center will handle process up to 20,000 metric tons of green coffee annually, with an estimated trade value of $100 million a year. The DMCC Coffee Center is due to open in 2018. Attending the November ground breaking were Mat- thew Pang director of Mega Capital Halal (MCH) and Wu Zhonghong, deputy general manager of Yunnan State Farms Agribusiness, a major coffee supplier in China contracting for services at the center. DMCC executive chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said "There are few things more satisfactory than when a partnership of this scale with MCH and Yunnan State Farms Group comes to fruition, especially when it benefits our trading community here in Dubai as well as connecting right into China's ambitious trade program and corridor, Belt and Road." From left: Matthew Pang, director MCH Commodity Trading; DMCC executives Gautam Sashittal, c.e.o. and executive chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayen with Wu Zhong- hong, deputy general manager Yunnan State Farms Agribusiness Group, China. NCA Reorganizes, DeRupo Departs Joe DeRupo, long time director of external relations and communicates for the National Coffee Association, left his post Nov. 30 when the position was eliminated as part of a strategic restructuring. DeRupo joined the staff in 2003 and advanced to his current role in 2010. His work creating the Coffee Delivers! public relations campaign received an award of excellence from the Public Relations Society of America. "Joe's been an important and valued member of the NCA team, and we wish him well as he enters a new chapter in his career," said NCA president and c.e.o. Bill Murray.