France underlines its presence at Gulfood 2007

Organized since 1987, Gulfood is the region's largest and most important industry event of the year and a strategic platform for buyers and sellers to conduct direct business face to face.

'Gulfood is the fastest growing exhibition of its kind and provides the best access for France to the Middle East food market.' comments Eric Santier, Managing Director for Sopexa.

'The four-day exhibition provides immense opportunities for France to highlight and differentiate its high quality produce, from French cheese and charcuterie, to olives, truffles and beverages. In parallel we will also be holding a 'French Festival' to increase and strengthen the promotion of French brands. With the 'French Festival', a variety of French foods can be tasted and enjoyed in the convivial atmosphere of the Novotel restaurants and bars.'

The «French Festival» will take place from the 17th to 24th February, at Novotel World Trade Center located in the Dubai World Trade Center within a stone's throw of the Gulfood Exhibition. French products will be highlighted and promoted during this week in all the Novotel restaurants and bars: the «Entre Nous »Restaurant will be offering a French buffet with innovative and original recipes using specific French products; «BlueBar » will propose a special selection of French wines and appetizers; and «CafeCream», the pastry shop will have a special range of French sandwiches and pastries.

French food products in the Middle East

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is one of the largest producers and importers of food and feed grains in the world. Residents of the UAE and other Gulf states spend up to USD 9.5 billion annually on foods consumed outside of their homes. Food consumption in this region of the world represents 10% of foodstuffs traded internationally. But despite the increase of the local production, GCC countries continue to resort to massive imports to cover the increasing population's needs.

France is the world's third largest exporter of farm and agri-foods products. With €39 billion turnover in 2005 (11% of all French exports), the French agribusiness ranks just behind the US and the Netherlands. The sector has a trade surplus of €8 billion. The majority of French exports are products cultivated on the national territory. The top four French export products are wines and spirits with 20% of the total value, tinned foods and groceries (14%), grains (10%) and dairy products (10%). France's main customers are European (Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain and others), and account for 74% of its exports.

France's gastronomic tradition has given rise to the country's leading industrial sector in terms of sales, with €138 billion in 2004. The sector is also France's second-leading employer, with 420,000 jobs in more than 10,000 firms, most of which are small or medium sized (i.e. having between 10 and 249 employees). This tradition includes 'products of the land' as well as many so-called 'living' products such as yoghurts, cheeses, fresh foie gras and others. These products are subject to demanding health standards, and comply with them strictly.

French exports to the Middle East are mainly made up of poultry, dairy products and apples. France is the 4th food provider of the Middle East and the 1st European one. Between 2000 and 2005, French exports have witnessed a regular decrease in the Middle East. This was mainly due to the ban on French beef and also to the strong Euro vs. the dollar which did not play the favor of European imports.

In 2005*, French food product exports to the Middle East have increased by 14.7 % in value. According to French customs' official data, KSA & the UAE rank respectively as France's 23rd and 29th world clients (in value) for agribusiness product exports. They have respectively increased their French food imports by 44% and 30.8% in 2005. Some emerging countries have recorded an astonishing increase of their French food imports such as Qatar with 86.1%!!! This can be mainly explained by the fantastic global economic growth that these countries are experiencing at the moment.

Huge market development perspectives

Indeed, despite this exceptional and amazing growth, the Middle Eastern region continues to offer many important development opportunities in terms of volume but also in terms of offer due to several important factors such as:

• An increase of global consumption linked to the population's growth combined with high disposable incomes and a growing taste for the western - style products

• Moreover, the Middle East has the world's best growth in the tourism sector with ambitious objectives (+36 million visitors for 2010 ; + 69 million visitors for 2020)

• The retail environment is rapidly changing with higher competition and larger shopping areas.

'The revolution of the distribution network with the fast development of French Chain hypermarkets as well as the development of the catering sector with many 4 & 5* Hotel openings in the region are positive factors for French food…' said Eric Santier, Managing Director for Sopexa.

'Moreover, Middle Eastern residents have become more aware of what they are eating and food safety has become a major priority for GCC governments. This is another good opportunity for our food products knowing that France applies very strict regulations and has innovated a lot in the sanitary and healthy food sector.'

The UAE, a specific market

Despite its small size, its quick development outside of the oil industry and its huge success in developing tourism have made the UAE the second biggest food & beverage market in the GCC (right after KSA), importing over $3 billion in food imports annually with its foodservice market growing at over 10% in 2006. Dubai plays a key role in the distribution of food in the region, with over 70% of total UAE food imports re-exported to more than 160 countries including the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, North and East Africa, and, increasingly, the Central Asian Republics. Within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains the largest market for food imports, representing approximately 60% of the total food market.