More than 140 companies from over 27 countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Turkey, will participate at the upcoming 14th edition of the Middle East Natural and Organic Products Expo (Menope), to be held in Dubai.

Being held under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment the event will be held from November 29 to December 1, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).

Menope 2016, the region’s only natural and organic products show, is being organised by Dubai-based Global Links, and will have three distinct vertical focus this year namely, food and beverages, beauty and wellness, health, nutrition and alternate medicine.

Engineer Fatima Obaid Al Kalbani, director of health and plant development department at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said: “The ministry's patronage of this exhibition comes within the framework of its interest in organic farming and organic products and enhanced contribution to food diversity.”

“In light of the increase in organic farming allocation, the number of organic agricultural crops and agricultural areas and growth in imported organic products, the ministry is keen to help regulate this sector, particularly with focus on the development of legislative frameworks which will in turn support the sector and enable it to enhance and compete in the market, as well as encourage private sector to invest,” she added.

In collaboration with the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA), MOCCAE also oversees the administration of the UAE’s registered organic product trademark, ‘Organic’ as well as the UAE system for ratification of the inputs and products in organic food under a regulatory order of 2014. This regulation limits the imports and circulation of inputs and organic products which do not have the national `Organic” trademark or if the products are not compatible to the ministry’s recognised norms of production, quarantine regulations and veterinary rules of the state. The Ministry in cooperation with partners also helps in promoting local organic products across shopping malls and other outlets.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Marar, chairman, Global Links, said: “The expanded and demarcated focus of this year’s expo is in line with the current market scenario. While food and beverages may still be on the top of the sales pyramid of organic and natural products, in the last few years segments like beauty and wellness as well as nutrition, particularly in categories such as infant food, has gained momentum,”

“Organic and natural products’ market still remains nascent, however, the impetus for growth in this sector has accelerated considerably with increasing number of health-conscious consumers embracing green life across food intake, personal beauty grooming as well as in preventing and responding to health-related issues,” he added.

A Euromonitor study earlier had forecast that the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) market for organic and natural products will be to the tune of close to Dh500 million ($120 million) in 2017, and has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12-15 per cent for the last five to six years.

The event will showcase a variety of products spanning across herbals and spices, food and beverages, cereal products, supplements, health care products, natural living, natural cosmetics, healing products, natural remedies, traditional medicines, spas, relaxation facilities, pet products and fabrics.

“The event has consistently attracted trade visitors of quality and as a buyer-seller platform the expo is known to be an effective enabler of trade. This year we expect over 5,000 trade visitors at Menope and early indications are that a predominant share of this will be from the GCC,” Al Marar concluded. – TradeArabia News Service