Worldwide food suppliers eye expanding Middle East region

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Gulfood, the region's most important and established event for food, drink, foodservice and hospitality equipment, is set to bring the most international and diverse selection of visitors and exhibitors in its history to Dubai in 2009.

The trade-only show reported record visitor attendance in 2008 with a total of 39,147 trade professionals from 148 countries attending the exhibition, making the event one of the world's top trade platforms for the industry.

Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the 14th edition of Gulfood will run from 23 - 26 February 2009. The event is one of the world's fastest growing exhibitions of its kind and will occupy a total of 80,000 sqm in 2009 across two venues in Dubai.

To meet increased demand for space, Gulfood will be held between the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and Airport Expo Dubai for the first time. The additional venue offers space for companies looking to break into the market. Organisers will provide a complimentary transport service for visitors between the two venues.

For the first year Gulfood will be co-located with Ingredients Middle East, an exhibition which caters for suppliers of raw material and ingredients for food, beverages, and health food.

Gulfood 2009 will also see the return of the specialised Restaurant & Café Middle East, a trade only exhibition and designed to meet the needs of industry professionals involved in every step of the restaurant and café set up and operation supply chain, including interior designers, tableware manufacturers and contract furnishing suppliers.

'With the introduction of Restaurant & Café in 2008 and the alignment of Ingredients Middle East in 2009, Gulfood has grown into the most comprehensive trade show of its kind and will provide an integrated sourcing platform for those working in the food and hospitality sector,' said Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre.

The event is set to welcome more than 3,300 companies who specialise in the food and hospitality sector. Building on the large international presence at this year's show, over 86 percent of these leading suppliers are from outside of the UAE.

Gulfood's international prominence has been further boosted by the ongoing growth of the hospitality industry within the MENA region, which will witness 900 hotels opening in the period up to 2020.

With imports to the GCC region reaching US $10 billion in 2007, Gulfood provides a unique global platform for those in the foodservice and hospitality industries to meet with, and establish, business contacts with decision makers and influencers from across the Middle East and GCC region.

'Continuing to ensure that Gulfood expands in line with the growth of the Middle East foodservice market is a priority and a necessity of Dubai World Trade Centre,' added Al Marri.

The event has become a hugely influential business development platform and with the introduction of new international pavillions each year the event continues to meet the needs of the Middle East food service industry.

'This year Gulfood is looking forward to welcoming pavilions from Kuwait, Pakistan, Iran, Peru and even as far as Iceland and Columbia who have read the results from previous shows and want to play a part in leveraging Dubai's position at the heart of the international trade network,'

added Al Marri.

To help support increasing specialisation within the market, DWTC has introduced dedicated halls within Gulfood for specific products and services, ranging from processing packaging and labelling, through to beverage and beverage equipment.

Industry specialists Zenith International will host a series of Beverage Opportunity Workshops presenting industry updates and addressing issues that are critical to the beverage sector in the region.

The 4th Dubai International Food Safety Conference, organised by Dubai Municipality, will also be present to examine the challenges and address issues facing the industry with renowned speakers from around the world. Attendance at the Dubai International Food Safety Conference has consistently doubled each year the event has taken part alongside Gulfood.

The much-anticipated Salon Culinaire will return, with a panel of 25 international judges - each mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) - and 1,000 international chefs competing for gold, silver and bronze.

Gulfood is strictly a trade-only event and is open to business and trade visitors from within the industry only, proof of which must be provided at registration. General public and persons under the age of 21 will not be allowed into the exhibition.