São Paulo – This year, Dubai is hosting the first edition of the Gulfood Manufacturing fair, targeting food processing, manufacturing and packaging companies. The show will be held from November 9th to 11th in nine different pavilions of the Dubai World Trade Center exhibition complex.
Gulfood Manufacturing was created to accommodate food industry machinery manufacturing companies for which there is no space available at the Gulfood. The latter had its 29th edition from February 23rd to 27th this year.
According to information released this Tuesday (8th) by the organisers of the two fairs, the new event is meant to meet demands from equipment makers interested in increasing their presence in the Middle East via the United Arab Emirates. During the fair, seminars and workshops about the region’s food industry will be held.
“Gulfood Manufacturing will facilitate significant inward investment opportunities for major international businesses eyeing regional buyers, suppliers, logistics providers and storage and transport solutions,” said the director general of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Helal Saeed Almari, according to a press release.
One of the segments featured at the event is halal food manufacturing, i.e. food made in accordance with Islamic rules. According to the press release, the halal food market should be worth 8.4 billion a year by the end of this decade. Dubai is betting on processing of this type of food as part of its long-term plan for becoming the economic capital of Islam.
Results
According to the press release issued by the Gulfood organisers, the show held in February this year attracted a record-breaking 4,500 companies from 120 countries. The fair received 81,622 visitors from 172 countries. The organisers did not disclose the combined value of deals closed, but said the legacy will amount to “billions of dollars.”
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
