Ph food companies join world’s biggest food trade in Dubai

Dubai, UAE  — Filipinos here rejoice as  23 companies from the Philippines joined Dubai’s annual international food and hospitality trade fair.

Filipino food  were among those showcased in the the 23rd edition of Gulf Food Hotel and Equipment Exhibition and Salon Culinaire (Gulfood).

The five-day fair was held last February 18 to February 22 at Sheikh Rashid Hall in the Dubai World Trade Center, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Philippine delegation,  led by the Department of Trade and Industry-Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (DTI-CITEM), displayed halal-certified, healthy and organic products, including fruits and vegetables, seafood and marine products, ethnic and gourmet selections, and other functional food and beverage products at the FoodPhilippines pavilion.

FoodPhilippines’ participation in the Gulfood 2018 is organized by CITEM, in partnership with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Dubai, as one of the DTI’s major efforts to intensify the promotion of Philippine specialty food products in overseas trade shows.

“Backed with these firms, we are confident this country participation will hit our sales target and significantly boost the government’s high-impact export strategy to generate more buyer interest for halal Philippine products in the GCC region,” said DTI-CITEM Deputy Executive Director Ma. Lourdes Mediran.

Philippine Commercial Attaché to the UAE Eric Elnar, who welcomed the Filipino exhibitors, said: “The Philippines is continuously intensifying its export promotion drive to get a bigger share of the lucrative GCC food and beverage market.  The Gulf region, the UAE most especially, has always been an important market for the Philippines.”

The Philippine food and beverage exports to the Gulf region stood at US$241.44 million in 2016, and has reached US$193.45 million from January to October in 2017. Fresh bananas, pineapple, chips, sauces, mixes and seasonings, frozen and canned tuna, noodles, desiccated coconut, fruit juices and processed frozen fish are the country’s top food exports to the region, according to Elnar.

In its participation at Gulfood this year, DTI-CITEM is looking to rake in at least US$110 million export deals as the Philippines seeks to increase its 5 percent share of the international halal market, complementing the overall government’s effort to empower its halal‐certified local entrepreneurs and set up 10 halal-accreditation centers in 2018.

Philippine companies who joined the delegation include  Asia Brewery Incorporated, Brandexports Philippines, Inc., Celebes Coconut Corp., Century Pacific Food, Inc., Gem Foods International Inc., Krystle Exports Phil. Inc., Magic Melt Foods, Inc., Mama Sita’s (Sandpiper Spices and Condiments Corporation), Marikina Food Corporation, Market Reach International Resources, Mega Global Corporation, and Miesto International Foods Corporation.

The  Millennium Specialty Coco Products, Inc., Philippine Grocers Food Exports, Inc., Pixcel Transglobal Foods Incorporated, Profood International Corporation, Q-Phil Products International, Roxas Sigma Agriventures, Inc., Sagrex Foods Inc., San Miguel Purefoods, Inc., Seatrade Canning Corporation, SL Agritech Corporation, and Super Q, exhibited their products at the FoodPhilippines pavilion.

Gulfood is known as the world’s biggest one-stop platform for the latest tastes, trends and innovation in the international food industry. It serves as a go-to for the global F&B community in sourcing for the latest and best products at best prices.

In 2017, the five-day event, participated by around 5,000 companies showcasing products across eight primary market sectors – beverages; dairy; fats and oils; health and wellness; pulses, grains and cereal; meat and poultry; world food; and power brands, was visited by 97,000 trade buyers from all over the world.-Henri Abenis-Macahilo/Newsline.ph