Gulfood’s landmark 20th anniversary edition delivers biggest and most influential edition in show’s history

Gulfood’s landmark 20th anniversary edition delivers biggest and most influential edition in show’s history
 

ATP-  arab tourism portal- DUBAI, (WAM) – Confirming the show’s standing as the world’s leading gateway for foodstuff commodities trade, Gulfood’s landmark 20th anniversary edition delivered the biggest and most influential exhibition in its history, according to the organisers.

The event took place in February at the Dubai World Trade Centre, DWTC, and is expected to generate show-floor trading and year-round legacy sales numbering in the billions of US dollars.

Spanning more than 127,000 square metres of exhibition space, including a 23,000 sq.m. purpose-built temporary structure, the largest-of-its-type regionally, Gulfood 2015 welcomed 84,642 visitors from 170 countries.

The 20th milestone edition of Gulfood attracted 4,800 local, regional and international exhibitors, including hundreds of first-time companies who had been wait-listed for a number of years, thousands of regular participants, and a small selection of companies who have participated at every show since its inception in 1987.

"The remarkable growth of Gulfood since its first edition 28 years ago is a reflection of Dubai’s global standing as a trade, logistics and commerce hub for the food and hospitality sectors and, at the same time, a strategic driver for the growth and development of the UAE’s increasingly diverse economy," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions and Events Management, DWTC, the show organiser. "By building a sustainable and diversified economy and capitalising on global economic partnerships to guarantee long-term prosperity and security, Dubai and the UAE continue to strengthen their pivotal role as a regional and international business hub. In this type of environment, there will always be a need for a bigger and better Gulfood."

With the global Halal food market accounting for a fifth of the world’s food trade according to Datamonitor, 2014, and the market predicted to reach US$10 trillion by 2030, the growing commercial importance of this particular market category was highlighted at Gulfood.

The international industry fixed its focus on the implementation of Halal standardisation and certification frameworks during the inaugural Halal Investment Conference, while the unveiling of a ‘Halal Mark’ by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, ESMA, reflected Dubai’s vision to become a global Islamic Economy capital.

During the show, two UAE based companies were officially certified to use the national Halal Mark: Global Food Industries, a frozen food manufacturer in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi based food and beverage firm, Agthia. At Gulfood 2015, ESMA revealed that Australia and New Zealand were the first countries to meet requirements of the new Halal Mark on imported meat products.