More than 30 Saudi Arabian exhibitors will showcase their latest offerings at the upcoming Gulfood Manufacturing, the region’s top food manufacturing, processing and packaging, logistics and materials handling exhibition, in Dubai, UAE.

The event will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from November 7 to 9.

The exhibitors will be led by the Saudi Export Development Authority (SEDA), and 14 manufacturers will share a 240-sq-m pavilion – the largest in Saudi Arabia’s three-year participation in the show, said a statement from the company.

The Saudi Arabian line-up includes some the kingdom’s most powerful producers of food packing, processing standards, food science, logistics analysis, storage and handling solutions, bakery and food processing, coding and traceability and product inspection, it said.

The country’s strategy aims to raise the share of the kingdom’s non-oil exports from its current 16 per cent to 50 per cent and ensure the country rises up the international economy ranks moving from the 19th largest to within the top 15 by the end of the next decade, it added.

“Saudi Arabia has built considerable expertise within the food manufacturing sector to serve its growing population and to safeguard sufficient strategic food reserves,” said Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president events and exhibitions, DWTC.

“This expertise is now being harnessed in a major export drive through which the country looks to expand the gross domestic product (GDP) contribution of its private sector from its current 40 per cent to 60 per cent. Saudi’s Gulfood Manufacturing participation is visible evidence of the Kingdom’s commitment to this drive,” she said.

“Saudi Arabia is now the world’s largest producer of dates with national production reaching 1.24 million tonnes, which is over 14 per cent of the international market. Research shows Saudi producers are investing heavily in improved technology, packaging and storage methods to boost competitiveness of its date exports, all of which will be in evidence at the event,” he added.

Saudi Arabia is one of 29 official national pavilions at the event including production machinery leaders Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the UK. The show will also welcome first-time pavilions representing Indonesia, Ireland, Russia and South Africa, said a statement.

Gulfood Manufacturing 2016 is an impressive 20 per cent larger than last year’s event and will see 1,600 international food manufacturers, suppliers and industry service providers fill 13 DWTC halls.

The show will be split into three specialist areas across more than 77,000-sq-m of exhibition space: Ingredients Middle East featuring fine and functional ingredients and the latest bulk and commodity ingredients, innovations, tastes and flavours; ProPack Middle East covering automation, processing equipment and packaging machinery; and Logistics Solutions Middle East for firms involved in materials handling, transport, IT and technology solutions, warehousing and facilitators and service providers, it stated.

The event will feature exhibitors from 52 countries who will meet the show’s largest turnout of hosted buyers in a programme be sponsored by Tetra Pak. More than 2,000 of the region’s most prominent industrial buyers are being invited to the event and supported with complimentary flights, accommodation and transport to and from the show, it added. – TradeArabia News Service