Gulfood 2016 kicks off in Dubai

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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Japan, buoyed by record 2015 agricultural, forestry and fishery exports to the UAE amounting to  US $58.3 million (AED 214 million), has expanded its pavilion by 150%. The Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO)-led promotion will feature 27 mostly new to the region companies with a strong focus on halal and health-related products and Wagyu beef suppliers.

Eighty Brazilian companies are looking to build on the country’s 2015 exports to the GCC reaching almost $4 billion, with the UAE absorbing nearly a third. Pavilion participants will promote a vast range of products from poultry to fruit, dairy, confectionery and pastry, while the pavilion will have two restaurants – a steakhouse BBQ and general food outlet where a Brazilian chef will prepare typical food and shawarma with Brazilian chicken.

Gulfood stalwart France has 71 food and beverage companies and 28 foodservice equipment providers in a pavilion where experts in the Saudi Arabian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Indian and Kenyan markets will be on hand to facilitate business. Visitors will be able to sample dairy products, eggs and cheese, sauces and condiments, baked goods and dessert pastry, meat and ready meals, processed fruits and soft drinks. They will also discover the know-how behind French hospitality, bakery and pastry. French food, beverage and hospitality exports to the UAE have shown year-on-year growth since 2009 with the trade rising by 10% in 2014.

Meanwhile, Spain is launching its biggest ever Gulfood campaign across 1,404 sq m of exhibition space. Under the umbrella of the Spanish Trade and Investment body (ICEX), 197 food companies are participating at the show, whilst the Spanish Exporting Manufacturers Association for the Hospitality Industry (AFEHC) is bringing another 28 specialist hospitality and foodservice equipment companies.

The Spaniards will roll out a vast array of hospitality and catering equipment, from ice makers and fire doors, to food storage and containers, combi ovens, blast chillers, beverage cellers, commercial washers to juicers.

Long-standing Gulfood partner Egypt has 125 companies at the show and a much wider, multi-commodities exhibitor profile ranging from freshly frozen fruit and vegetables to chocolate biscuits, dairy and dates.

Pakistan’s revitalised food and beverage agricultural industry is launching a major export push at the show with 51 Pakistani companies in a country pavilion led by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). The country’s Gulfood pavilion has grown from a mere 90 square metres in 2015 to 450 square metres this year, reflecting the emergence of a major exporting sector that is now challenging textiles as Pakistan’s main foreign exchange earner with worldwide sales topping US $5 billion last year.

Pakistani exhibitors will be looking to source new buyers for a huge range of products including rice, sauces, nuts, frozen foods, sweets, confectionery and tea. Pakistani participation expansion comes as the country achieved a 27% increase in the country’s food and beverage exports to the UAE alone over the past two years. The sector is now selling just short of $461 million worth of food and beverage to the Emirates annually.

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Gulfood will also host the ninth World Cezve/Ibrik Championship, where the UAE’s undefeated Cezve/Ibrik coffee-making champion, Karthikeyan Ranjedran, will pin his hopes on a genetically-engineered Kenyan coffee bean as he seeks to ward off 20 international challengers and secure his adopted homeland’s first World Cezve/Ibrik Championship title.

Owned and organised by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), Gulfood’s hosting of the competition, dedicated to the centuries-old art of brewing coffee in a ‘Cezve’ or ‘Ibrik’ - the small, long-handled pot – marks the contest’s Middle East debut.

Coffee trading is high on Gulfood’s agenda with Euromonitor International predicting the UAE’s coffee market alone will grow by over 30% in the next four years as Dubai emerges as a key supply cog in the global supply chain.

With domestic demand continuing an upward surge with over 4,000 tea and coffee houses now operating in the country and 82% of the population saying they consume coffee each day, according to the F&B online resource Zagat, the UAE is increasingly seen as both a growing consumer and re-export market for coffee beans and refined finished product.

Euromonitor says the country sits at the centre of a region which now accounts for eight per cent - or $6.5 billion - of the $85 billion global consumer spend on coffee. This could increase by up to a third by 2030.

Of the 70 coffee producing countries worldwide, major exporters Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Columbia, Ethiopia, India and Mexico will be present at Gulfood 2016, while buying delegations from the world’s largest traditional importers - the United States and Japan - will network with specialist coffee trading, roasting and packaging companies from emerging markets across the MENA region, South Asia and Africa.

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Halal is another huge Gulfood 2016 focus and over 800 halal certified companies are within the Halal World Food show-in-a-show, while the revamped Gulfood conference programme will include the Gulfood Halal Forum.

The show-floor culinary demonstrations will peak at the annual Emirates Culinary Guild International Salon Culinaire – a showcase of the region’s best culinary talent and expertise. One of Gulfood’s undisputed draws for the regions’ top professional chefs, pastry chefs, cooks and bakers, this year’s Salon will see more than 1,300 professional chefs evaluated by a panel of 25 renowned experts, mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) to judge culinary events across the globe.

With the number of F&B outlets in the UAE expected to double by 2020 when Dubai hopes to receive 20 million tourists as the emirate hosts Expo Dubai 2020 – food service and hospitality equipment is an expanded focus at Gulfood 2016.

Every year, thousands of F&B products and services debut at Gulfood and the seventh Gulfood Awards will recognise best-in-class excellence of individuals and companies behind the region’s leadership and innovation in the food and drink industry. Judged by an international panel of independent industry experts, the Gulfood Awards cover six categories and 10 accolades.

Gulfood 2016 is expected to also draw a record trade attendance of more than 85,000 visitors from over 170 countries including international heads of state, ministers, government officials and national trade associations from five continents.