France doubles its presence at Gulfood 2008

France's presence on Gulfood is even further enhanced with the sponsorship of the Dubai International Food Safety Conference by French Poultry and that of the Emirates Salon Culinaire by Dairy Products from France, both of which are taking place during Gulfood 2008.

Gulfood 2008 is taking place from 24th to 27th February 2008 at the Dubai World Trade Center, and the French Pavilion will be present in the Al Maktoum Hall - Sopexa Booth M-C40.

Since the creation of Gulfood, France has always had its own pavilion: in 2006, 19 brands were promoted; in 2007, 39 and at this year's exhibition, 53 French companies will be present on the French Food Pavilion bringing together an excellent selection of France's genuine high quality food products. The large number of participants on the French Pavilion simply illustrates the rich diversity of French food products.

A cornucopia of cheese, butter, cream, syrup, seafood, chocolate, coffee, pastry, bakery, poultry, pasta, delicatessen products, foie gras, mushrooms, truffles, mustard, oil, honey, biscuits, beverages, jam and other delights will bring visitors a taste of the best that France has to offer. The gastronomical richness of France is mainly due to the quality and diversity of its regions in terms of landscape, climate, traditions and culture. Furthermore, France's exciting food products can be prepared and presented in many different ways - from the simplest to the most refined - and are also perfectly suited for international and oriental cuisine.

What's more French Poultry is sponsoring the 3rd Dubai International Food Safety Conference (DIFSC), one of the most awaited events in the food safety calendar in the Middle East. Tilly-Sabco and Doux, the two main French poultry brands marketed in the Middle East are silver sponsors of the event, proving their commitment to current food safety and production issues and their will to enhance safety of the food supply chain.

France continues its involvement in the food field, as Dairy Products from France will be one of the main sponsors of this year's Emirates Salon Culinaire held in conjunction with Gulfood and spearheaded by the Emirates Culinary Guild. EVEN and Elle&Vire will sponsor two cooking classes, respectively the 'Friandises / Petits Fours / Parlines / Nougatine' competition and the 'five plates of dessert' competition.

'Gulfood is a hugely influential business development platform and provides the best access for France to the Middle East food market,' comments Eric Santier, Managing Director for Sopexa. 'The French Pavilion builds on the diversity of France's high quality food products, from French cheese, to olives, truffles, beverages, jams and much more. In parallel, the active participation of French Poultry in the Dubai International Food safety Conference and the Dairy Products from France in the Emirates Salon Culinaire proves the commitment of the French Agro-industry to not only contribute in current food safety issues but also to comply with the world-renowned standards of hospitality and cuisine that are being offered in the Middle East and to support the culinary minds of the Region.'

French food products in the Middle East

France is the world's second largest exporter of farm and agri-foods products, with €42bn turnover in 2006, just behind the US. The Middle East ranks as France's 9th world client for agribusiness product exports, with €797m worth of exports out of which €459m is for the GCC. The two main markets in the region for French food & beverage exports are KSA and the UAE, who imported for respectively €194m and €161m worth in 2006. French exports to the Middle East are mainly made up of poultry, dairy products, beverages and sweets.

Despite its 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) boosting the restaurant and fine dining sectors to record levels.

•The ongoing expansion of shopping areas, fast-food chains and supermarket chains bringing higher competition to the retail environment.

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 €3bn worth of food annually. French food exports to the UAE represented €161 million in 2006, the main exports in value being wine & spirits (€35m), biscuits & sweets (€30m), dairy products (€18m) and poultry products (€13m).