The global food market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5 per cent from 2015 to 2020, and the UAE food and beverage market alone is anticipated to reach a valuation of Dh82 billion ($22 billion) by the end of the decade, according to Euromonitor International.

The 2018 edition of Gulfood, the world’s largest annual food and beverage trade event and the first major international food industry trade show of the year, will further strengthen the UAE’s lead role in setting the global food agenda, according to the exhibition organisers, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Citing the long-established reputation of Gulfood as a key driver in fostering innovation across the local, regional and global food and beverage supply chain, DWTC officials revealed on-site sales generated by 95,000-plus buyers and visitors at Gulfood 2018 – which runs from February 18 to 22 – will contribute heavily to a global food market expected to generate revenues of $3.03 trillion by 2020, according to Research and Markets, a Dublin-based market research company.

Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, exhibitions and events, DWTC, said: “In attracting the Middle East’s largest trade industry audience, generating huge transactional volumes every year on the show floor, and setting global foodstuff commodity prices, Gulfood is the region’s premier food and beverage industry platform – it underlines Dubai’s leading role in the global food sector.”

“With regional investment in food production on the rise, international manufacturers see the Middle East as a lucrative market for their products. In this dynamic climate, Gulfood continues to empower the global food and beverage community as an unmatched trading and knowledge platform that offers unrivalled market overviews and insights to industry professionals,” she added.

 The bright forecast for Gulfood 2018 follows hundreds of major deals struck and initiatives launched at last year’s event, including US Beef regaining eligibility to ship beef products to Saudi Arabia, a $31 million market.

US exhibitors at the show reported on-site sales of $85.5 million with forecasts of a further $722 million in direct sales as a result of their participation, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS).

The FAS also recruited 47 potential food and beverage suppliers - with a network spanning Asia, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East – to service US exporters at Gulfood 2017.

In the UAE, Dubai-based gourmet snacks specialist Hunter Foods signed a lucrative deal with Chinese importers, while the Emirates Authority for Standardisation & Meteorology (ESMA) hosted the pioneering Global Halal Industry Platform.