A new edition of Gulfood will take place from 26 February to 2 March in Dubai (UAE), an event that has established itself as a platform for Spanish agri-food companies in this region, given that it welcomes visitors from all countries in the Persian Gulf and Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and Oceania. The fair has grown so much internationally that it is common to do business with other companies from countries as far away as the United States, Brazil and Australia. In this 22nd edition of Gulfood, ICEX Spain Export and Investment is organising a Spanish pavilion with 196 companies, a record number of participants since it began its participation in the fair.
The 2016 edition surpassed historical highs in all parameters, in line with the progressive growth of the fair in both size and attractiveness. More than 5,000 companies (4% more) attended, with 117 national pavilions present.
Gulfood welcomed more than 93,000 trade visitors, 10% more than in the previous edition, with 63% of them coming from outside the United Arab Emirates.
Gulfood thus becomes a useful tool not only for identifying niche markets and taking advantage of business opportunities in a part of the world with high economic growth and high demand for quality food, but also for establishing business contacts from a wide variety of geographical locations. Gulfood is highly valued by exhibitors, with 91% rating it as good to excellent and 95% planning to participate again in this edition.
A key element in the success of this event is the high commercial quality of its visitors, a large percentage of whom have real decision-making and purchasing power for their companies. This makes Gulfood a highly commercial event, with 85% of visitors stating that they are looking to make purchases in the next six to twelve months.
As for the Spanish companies participating in the ICEX pavilion in 2016, those participating for the first time gave Gulfood particularly high marks. These companies' expectations were greatly exceeded, as they were able to set up meetings with valuable distributors/importers and sign commercial agreements in the months following the fair. Participating companies define Gulfood as a strategic fair in which it is necessary to participate in order to expand their presence in the area, strengthen their brand image and discover niche markets.
The 196 companies that will showcase their products in the Spanish pavilion come from the following provinces: Murcia (20), Seville (17), Madrid (15), Barcelona (13), Valencia (13), Navarre (10), Alicante (8), Toledo (8), Cordoba (7), Malaga (7), Almería (6), Ciudad Real (6), Jaén (6), Badajoz (5), Lleida (5), Asturias (4), Burgos (4), Cáceres (4), Valladolid (4), Girona (3), Granada (3), Zaragoza (3), Cádiz (2), Cantabria (2), Castellón (2), La Rioja (2), León (2), Ourense (2), Pontevedra (2), Zamora (2), Albacete (1), Ávila (1), Ceuta (1), Cuenca (1), Guadalajara (1), Huelva (1), Lugo (1), Palencia (1) and Salamanca (1).
The foreign trade promotion agencies of Andalusia (EXTENDA), Castile and León (ADE), the Valencian Community (IVACE) and Extremadura (AVANTE) will bring together companies from their regions to participate in the Spanish pavilion.
High dependence on foreign countries in the region
The food sector in the region offers excellent business opportunities due to the enormous dependence on foreign food supplies, estimated at around 75% for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as a whole (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman) and 90% in the case of the UAE. The food market is estimated to grow by 4.2% annually in the coming years, with meat, dairy and fruit and vegetable products seeing the highest demand.
In addition to the international nature of the fair, the UAE market is very important due to its high re-export rate, which is a result of having the most developed distribution channel in the region. It is estimated that 30% of imported food is re-exported to other countries in the area, giving access to more than 40 million inhabitants. If we add other countries in the region such as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the target market expands to 300 million people.
Spanish exports of agri-food products and beverages to the United Arab Emirates reached €283 million in the period from January to November 2016. During this period, fruit and vegetable products, with €62 million, olive oil, with €24 million, and canned fruit and vegetables, with €18 million, were the main food products exported to the UAE.
