Gulfood 2019 had a successful end on its 24th edition at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) with major alliance advancements and multibillion-dollar export deals strengthening the emirate’s staus for specialist industry events that serve as strategic gateways to hugely-lucrative and transformational global markets.
It was one of the largest edition of gulf food for trade and development, attracting more than 100,000 visitors from 200-plus countries seeking business opportunities and exploring the latest F&B products and innovation. In line with its constant evolution to deliver an unparalleled experience for exhibitors and visitors, this year’s show incorporated a range of new features under the theme ‘The World of Good. The World of Food’, including Tastes of the World, which hosted 50 world renowned chefs displaying their skills in 59 cooking demonstrations.
With mega F&B trade deals closed at Gulfood 2019 stretching the length and breadth of the globe, show stalwarts and industry heavyweights emphasized the importance of the Dubai event to their annual F&B plans.
Business France, the French government agency that encourage the European country’s exports, hosted a diverse range of French F&B producers across a number of the show’s sectors during its five-day run and hailed the success of the 2019 event. Fellow European F&B behemoth Italy also enjoyed a successful outing and identified Gulfood as taking on greater significance for Italian companies annually.
Across the five days, Gulfood also facilitated an additional 6,700 individual trade meetings with an average of $1 million in agreement per participating company. The alarming endorsement of the 2019 edition underlines the show’s position as a driver of a booming global F&B industry and key contributor to Dubai’s economic success.
“Gulfood has been a resounding success this year, with deals totaling more than $21 million signed at the Chilean pavilion. This eclipsed the business done at the event last year by over one million dollars. Forecast for business related to the show will reach $50 million this year,” said Carlos Salas, trade commissioner of Chile in Dubai.