UAE: Halal World Food highlights breakthroughs in the global market

The Dubai trade event will present thousands of halal products from six continents to become the largest annual halal food sourcing fair globally

HALALhalal world food World Food, which is presented by Gulfood, is set to become the world’s biggest annual Halal food sourcing trade show.

The specialist show-within-a-show will bring together exhibitors from six continents displaying thousands of Halal products from energy drinks, vegan and vegetarian foods, to meat and poultry, canned goods, gourmet, and fine foods. It will also cover all Halal-related aspects of global foodservice, retail, and hospitality sectors to highlight the depth and variety of international halal products.

The trade event will highlight Dubai as a primary global trading hub for the international halal food industry. Backed by the city’s position as a worldwide halal centre, the Halal World Food exhibition creates opportunities for major international businesses targeting regional buyers, suppliers, logistics providers, and storage and transport solutions.

The show also serves as a venue for halal food policy-shapers and government organisations to discuss standardisations and certification frameworks. Key halal sector players and senior government decision makers will discuss commercial and business opportunities at the Halal Investment Conference, a Gulfood Leaders Event

The topics for this year’s Halal Investment Conference include the role of corporations in responding to increasing halal food demand in both Islamic and non-Islamic economies and ways to bridge the gaps in halal supervision and audit.

The conference will also discuss the following issues:

  • What Halal sectors offer the best investment opportunities?
  • How does regulation help or hinder bilateral trade?
  • Is halal E-commerce a neglected global market opportunity?

The Halal food market is projected to hit US $1.6 trillion by 2018 as demand rises, particularly in the Middle East and Asia.

ARTICLE TWO

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Dubai gears up Mideast region’s biggest food show

One of the fastest growing segments of the worldwide food industry and currently worth $1.1 trillion globally, the international Halal food market occupies an integral part of Gulfood 2015, the landmark 20th anniversary of the world’s leading food and hospitality trade show.

In all, more than 1,000 international specialist Halal food brands and companies will convene at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from February 8 to 12 to display thousands of Halal products – from energy drinks, vegan and vegetarian foods to meat and poultry, canned goods, gourmet and fine foods – at the second annual Halal World Food to be held as part of the Gulfood.

With more than 80,000 international food industry professionals due to attend the largest edition of Gulfood to date, Halal World Food will cement its standing as the world’s biggest annual Halal food sourcing trade show.

Beyond the significant, sector-specific commercial and trading opportunities presented at the dedicated show-within-a-show concept, the inaugural Halal Investment Conference on February 10 will debut as part of the three-day Gulfood Leaders Events programme.

As worldwide food companies explore opportunities across a global Halal market predicted to reach $10 trillion by 2030 (Global Futures and Foresights Study), the Halal Investment Conference will see the food policy-shapers, government entities and major local, regional and international private sector players come together to discuss business opportunities, as well as the implementation of far-reaching standardisation and certification frameworks across a sector of increasing commercial importance.

“The global Halal food market now accounts for a fifth of the world’s food trade, and as the primary trading hub for Halal food in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, Dubai has both the ambition and world-class infrastructure to become a worldwide Halal centre,” said Trixie LohMirmand, the senior vice president, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC,  citing a Datamonitor report.

“Gulfood is one of the most important international platforms for the global food trade and the strategic enhancement of our Halal World Food initiative will ensure the show continues to play a leading role in the growth of the Halal food sector – a key enabler in realising Dubai’s vision to become the global Islamic Economy capital.”

Topics to be covered at the Halal Investment Conference include the role of Halal in Dubai’s capital of Islamic Economy vision, business opportunities in the global Halal marketplace, Halal regulation and governance in the GCC, the impact of any new Halal regulations on the global food industry, positioning Halal products in mainstream markets, successful Halal marketing, and the meaningful transformation of the Halal brand in non-Islamic countries.

Representatives from Al Ghurair Investments, Al Dahra Agriculture, Zilzar Technology, Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma), Dubai Municipality, Mondelez International, Danone, Raqam Consultancy JLT, Just Falafel and GMA Middle East will speak at the conference.

“Being an all-halal food focused manufacturer, Dubai, the main hub for the Halal food industry, is one of our primary and biggest markets,” said Idris Mohammed, the director of Tilly-Sabco Bretagne, the French leaders in chicken production and slaughtering, and the title sponsor of the Halal Investment Conference.

With GCC Halal food imports projected to rise from $25.8 billion in 2010 to $53.1 billion by 2020 (Economist Intelligence Unit), the UAE is progressing a series of initiatives designed to propel its position at the forefront of the global Halal food industry.

Anticipation runs high as the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma) and Dubai Municipality work to establish unified Halal standards that will, in the future, be introduced to all Islamic countries.

In addition, government officials announced in 2014 that Dubai has dedicated 6.7 million sq m of land in Dubai Industrial City for a dedicated ‘Halal Cluster’ reserved for manufacturing and logistics companies dealing in Halal products, he added.-TradeArabia News Service