Four French pavilions will be at Gulfood 2018

Business France will be running four French pavilions at Gulfood in 2018, with around 70 French companies.

France is set to highlight the latest French products on a surface area of 800m² across four halls: fine food in the world food section in Sheikh Saeed Hall ; dairy products in Hall 1; meat and poultry in Hall 3; and drinks in Za’Abeel Hall.

For the first time at Gulfood, visitors will be able to witness a live cooking show provided by Cordon Bleu, the French Culinary Arts and Hotel Management institute. It will be held the whole week in Sheikh Saeed Hall and undertaken by chefs Nicolas Houchet and Emil Minev. 

Marc Cagnard, Business France director in the Middle East, stated in a statement: "Agri-food is France’s largest industry sector in terms of both revenue and jobs. By 2040, the global population is likely to be approaching nine billion and the French agri-food market is estimated to be growing by an average of 4% a year, with health food alone set to grow 2.5% a year over the next three years."

France is the sixh largest exporter worldwide with US$65 billion. The Middle East region has a market share of more than 3.4% for French food exports which represents a value of $2.2bn. The two first partners in the area are Saudi Arabia and UAE, making both a value of $1.1bn. They are followed by Egypt and Lebanon.

In 2016, the UAE imported $400m of food and beverage products from France, making the Emirates the 24th export market for the French industry. French exports of F&B products to UAE have doubled since 2010. Saudi Arabia is the 20th export market for France.

This year, the regional partner agencies DEV’UP Centre Val de Loire and Bretagne Commerce International will also be in attendance to support companies from their region during Gulfood. Other partners include Evian, Badoit, and Cafes Richard.