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“Gulfood,” the world’s largest annual F&B (food and beverage) exhibition, celebrates its 22nd edition this year, throwing its doors wide open for F&B professionals from all corners of the globe to meet for 5 days of business within this central hub for international trade and commerce. Launched as a biennial event in 1987, the exhibition has over the years grown to promote F&B trade between more than 120 countries annually, enabling some 5000 providers of raw materials and ingredients to showcase the tastes, trends and innovations that are shaping the future of food and beverage consumption worldwide.  An NRI Achievers’ report …

Gulfood is a B2B (business to business) trade exhibition that is professionally managed and hosted by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). With three decades of experience in delivering world-class events and an ongoing commitment to commerce and innovation within the exhibition industry, DWTC is an institution recognized as a key driver of tourism growth throughout the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) region.

The event is all about connecting with the who’s-who of the F&B world, at this central meeting point between the East and the West.  At Gulfood 2017, the show floor will be segmented into eight of the largest F&B commodity trading markets, enabling participants to get straight down to brasstacks, accessing the people you most want to meet from the sectors they primarily serve. This commercial streamlining is expected to generate focused sourcing discussions, deep market insights and maximized networking hours that will prove invaluable for the forthcoming business cycle.  Gulfood 2017 will see the attendence of numerous heads of states, ministers, government officials and national trade associations, apart from the professionals who are in its exhaustive list of confirmed attendees.

Slated to take place between 26th February and March 2nd 2017 at Dubai, Gulfood has, in retrospect, been getting bigger and bigger.  The event last year attracted a record estimate of 90,000 visitors, many of whom attended on multiple days.  With over 5,000 companies from some 120 countries exhibiting here, this is poised to be the Middle East’s leading and largest food, drink, and hospitality services exposition.  The UAE imports over 80% of the food products it consumes, out of which around 50% are re-exported to Gulf Cooperative Council countries, the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Africa. The key to Gulfood is that it attracts buyers not merely from the Gulf region but from as wide a swath spanning  from Turkey to India.

This year as well, India’s APEDA (the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) has opted to participate in the forthcoming event, where it is proposing to push Indian Food products like Basmati rice, fresh fruits and vegetables; processed Food preparations like ready-to-eat food/curries, soups, honey, fresh/frozen fruits & vegetables, chutneys, pickles, herbal tea, wine, beer and organic products.  70 Indian firms, according to the CMD of APEDA, will be participating in the fair under its overall umbrella presence.

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