In early spring, the place to be for the industry is the third "Plast Alger" (www.plastalger.com) at the exhibition grounds in Algiers from 6-8 April. According to German-based event organisers Fairtrade (Heidelberg; www.fairtrade-messe.de) demand has been so strong that they needed a larger facility to allow everyone a place to exhibit. In addition, "Printpack Alger" (www.printpackalger.com) will also be running at the same venue during the same timeframe. Both Austria and Spain will once have national pavilions at the exhibition.

According to figures released by Germany's national engineering association, VDMA (Frankfurt; www.vdma.org), the Algerian plastics industry is not only one of the fastest growing sectors, but it is also one of the most important in the country. Imports of plastics and rubber technology came to USD 99.8m in 2012, representing a jump of USD 27m against the previous year. The North African country has become the fourth-largest importer of plastics machinery on the continent, ranking behind South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria.

With annual consumption at 1m t/y, and 50% headed for markets in Asia and Europe, the Algerian market has enormous potential, according to the association.

The registration deadline for exhibitors is 20 January.

For further information contact Gudrun Bornschein, Phone: +49 (0) 6221 45 65 27, Email: g.bornschein@fairtrade-messe.de