PARMA, Italy, May 7 -- For the first time, a number of Italian food companies will take part in World of Food Beijing, the food event for north China, officials have said here during the ongoing international fair on food made in Italy, Cibus.

So far a total of 250 Italian companies have already confirmed their participation in the Beijing fair, which will take place on Nov. 26-28, thanks to a collaboration between Cibus and Koelnmesse, the organizer of the world's leading food fair Anuga.

Anuga, the mother event of World Food of Beijing, has a partnership with CFNA, China chamber of commerce of foodstuffs and native produce, which will offer comprehensive access to one of the most important food markets in the world, Koelnmesse Italia CEO Thomas Rosolia told Xinhua.

"During the Beijing event, the Italian companies will have the possibility to meet some 6,000 Chinese buyers and get to know how the food industry is organized in China," Rosolia said.

"The Italian food companies are looking forward to visiting China that they see as a highly promising market with around 200 million potential consumers," the CEO noted.

He also added that cultural and matchmaking activities during the three-day event will play a role in bringing Italian companies closer to the Chinese market.

According to forecasts by the Association of Food Industries (AFI) mentioned by the World of Food Beijing's website, in 2018 China will become the world's largest consumer of imported food with a market valued at up to 80 billion U.S. dollars.