HONG KONG/LEIPZIG, Germany: Indian dentistry will have a new place to gather as the first International Dental Meeting & Exhibition (IDEM) will open its doors to dental professionals next week at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. According to preliminary reports from the organiser Koelnmesse, more than 130 companies from 19 countries will be presenting their dental products, services and solutions over the course of three days. The organisers also confirmed that countries like Switzerland, Italy, Korea, Germany and the US will have joint booth participation at the show. IDEM India is scheduled to take place from 23 to 25 October 2009.

IDEM India’s show concept is based on a major dental event that is organised by Koelnmesse in Singapore and takes place every two years. The last show in 2008 drew more than 6,000 trade visitors to the South Asian city-state and confirmed its role as a pivotal dental meeting in the Asia Pacific region. A survey revealed that more than 20 per cent of the exhibitors there are already serving Indian customers or are looking for a similar platform to address the Indian market directly.

Amongst Asia’s emerging market countries, India remains one of the countries with sustainable growth. The country currently has at least 40,000 practising dentists and a market volume of around US$440 million, which is three times higher than that of China. However, the tempo has slackened somewhat in India too, owing to the current situation in the global financial markets. For the current fiscal year 2008/09, analysts from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy corrected expectations from 8.2 per cent to 7.4 per cent after 9.0 per cent the previous year. The Office of Statistics in India is reckoning on only 7.1 per cent, which was confirmed in the most recent report by the company Germany Trade and Invest. However, compared with recent growth forecasts of only 2 per cent for countries in the EU or the US, the opportunities for making an entry into the Indian market are excellent.

IDEM India will feature not only a major dental exhibition, but also an academic conference at which experts will have the opportunity to present on the latest topics in Indian and international dentistry. In addition, seminars and workshops will give visitors the opportunity to obtain selective training and continuing education. A Speaker’s Corner with product presentations by key industry players is also planned.

“With the IDEM show in Singapore we have proven that we are able to set up international successful trade shows in emerging markets,” said Oliver P. Kuhrt, Executive Vice-President of Koelnmesse. “The Indian market has enormous potential and we hope that IDEM India will become an important platform for the dental trade in the country, where they can contact existing and future customers”.

Around 5,000 trade visitors from the Indian subcontinent are expected to attend the first IDEM India show, he added.