One of the world’s biggest F&B trade events kicks off today in Dubai. 

The 21st edition of Gulfood gets underway today at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and will take place over the next five days.

More than 85,000 visitiors are expected to attend Gulfood, which includes the third edition of Halal World Food - the world's biggest annual halal food sourcing trade event - to see the 5,000 companies from 120 countries exhibiting and the 117 trade and industry pavilions.

The exhibitor line-up includes finished food producers, bulk commodity wholesalers, distributors and exporters, and the show’s largest-ever collection of hospitality equipment suppliers.

The record number of exhibitors will occupy in excess of 1.29 million sq ft of indoor exhibition space.

“The rise of Gulfood is down to a number of key factors including Dubai’s global standing as an import and re-export hub, the emirate’s growing sea-air transport links expanding its geographic trading footprint and the strategic importance placed on the domestic and regional tourism and hospitality industries,” explained Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, exhibitions & events management, DWTC.

“Multiply these drivers by rapid population growth, food security concerns and the growth in food manufacturing and processing in the UAE, the wider region and emerging countries for which Dubai is now a sourcing hub and you understand why Gulfood is now internationally-recognised as the strategic trading platform for the global food industry,” she added.

With a recent pipeline report from benchmarking index STR Global identifying some 538 hotels are under construction in the Middle East and another 321 are under contract in Africa, the record response to Gulfood mirrors the widespread investment in the hotel and hospitality industries that are driving regional states’ economic diversification policies.

Continuing its evolved status as a weathervane to hospitality and food sector trends, Gulfood 2016 features a raft of new exhibitors, expanded participation by returnees and a wealth of new-to-market products.

“For the retail, foodservice, catering and hospitality industries, Gulfood presents an incredible sourcing opportunity with hundreds of new product launches, innovations in health and special diet, and an even wider range of ethnic and speciality foods.

"For the wholesale, food import and export buyers, the multi-million dollar transactions made at Gulfood will set pricing benchmarks throughout 2016. This is why market-makers and the biggest traders from around the world attend Gulfood - it’s where the big deals are made, company to company and country to country,” commented LohMirmand.

The importance of Gulfood as a global trading platform is demonstrated by the 117 national and food export industry groups attending this year’s event. These pavilions include first-time representation from Russia, Costa Rica, Belarus, Mauritius and New Zealand returning after a six-year break.

Russia’s Gulfood debut is being led by the Federation’s Minister of Agriculture, His Excellency Alexander Tkachev, and marks the launch of a global export sales push for the country’s leading food producers.

The Russian product line-up includes a range of frozen and chilled meat and poultry products including frozen halal chicken and beef, milk and dairy products, yogurts, cheeses and seed oils.

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