Dubai is set to host its inaugural 'Gulfood Manufacturing' show which will feature more than 1,100 international machinery, equipment, product and service suppliers from 52 countries, as well as 24 official country pavilions.

Starting from tomorrow (November 9), Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the region’s leading conference and exhibition venue and organiser, will embark on a three-day programme of sector-specific exhibitions, ministerial summits and market-shaping conferences covering every sector of the global food industry.

Gulfood Manufacturing, the only dedicated food processing trade event in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South East Asia, will feature three segment-specific sectors: Food Logistics Middle East, ProPack Middle East and Ingredients Middle East, said the organisers.

Conceived to capitalise on and drive inward investment in the region’s flourishing food manufacturing, processing, packaging and ingredients sectors, the debut Gulfood Manufacturing stands to be DWTC’s biggest-ever trade show launch, they added.

The show will also roll-out the global food industry’s largest-ever hosted buyer programme, a mammoth initiative designed to highlight the region’s rapidly expanding food and beverages (F&B) manufacturing and production infrastructure to influential buyers from countries including Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Iran and Nigeria.

F&B Industrial Investment Summit, a strategic two-day investment event, will bring together overseas investors and multinational corporations to explore economic, market and manufacturing opportunities across the MEA and South East Asia.

The summit aims to give attendees and delegates a better understanding of the financial, legal, logistics, cold chain and technology benefits of locating or expanding existing operations in the region, said the organisers.

On the show-floor at Gulfood Manufacturing, the Food Factory of the Future - presented by Germany’s United Food Technology (UFT) - will turn science fiction into reality by showcasing cutting-edge technologies in food manufacturing including innovations in space utilisation, processing yields, hygiene controls and waste management that contribute to a faster, efficient, cleaner and more eco-friendly factory mechanism.

Meanwhile, the Speciality Food Festival (Seafex) and Sweets and Snacks Middle East - DWTC’s annual trio of niche food shows - will also be held along side the event.

Having attracted an international cache of the world’s leading producers of fine, gourmet, organic and luxury foods, the Speciality Food Festival 2014 is 200 per cent larger than its 2010 debut.

In addition to collecting some of the world’s finest gourmet products, the fifth edition of the event will see two Emiratis battle local and regional baristas at the Middle East’s newest accredited coffee championship and a prestigious White Truffle Auction broadcast live from the Marche region of Italy, said the organisers.

Seafex 2014, the region's biggest international trade fair for the seafood industry, is 56 per cent larger than its 2012 launch event, while the eighth edition of Sweets & Snacks Middle East – presented by DWTC and Koelnmesse GmbH - is 42 per cent bigger in floor-space than last year’s event and double the size of its 2012 edition.

Elsewhere at DWTC, the co-located World of Perishables Dubai 2014 and Dubai Municipality’s Dubai International Food Safety Conference further accentuate the venue’s holistic food industry offering.

On the debut show, Trixie LohMirmand, the senior vice-president, Events & Exhibitions Department, DWTC, said: "With the Middle East’s food requirements growing exponentially, there are vital challenges and opportunities across the regional food production and consumption industries - from driving investment in the flourishing food processing, packaging and manufacturing sector, to addressing on-going food security concerns related to the region’s over-reliance on imported food."

“Our compelling portfolio of food industry events – championed by our inaugural Gulfood Manufacturing – will provide global visitors from across the food trade with multiple platforms to learn about, experience and invest in the latest international ingredients, equipment and business improvement tools they need to secure sustainable productivity, profitability and business growth,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service