A large contingent of Australian meat exporters is converging to Dubai next week to participate at Gulfood 2011, in a further demonstration of the region’s importance to Australia’s meat industry. Over 18 meat exporters and producers from Australia will be hosted at the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) pavilion, widely anticipated to be at the centre of Gulfood visitors’ attention for its contribution to the estimated annual $860m red meat products’ trade between Australia and the MENA region.
“Our strong involvement in Gulfood 2011 is a clear indication of our firm commitment towards Middle East where our products enjoy unsurpassed reputation among various segments of consumers who trust our quality assurance and safety systems and favour the highly nutritional and gourmet attributes of our halal products,” said Mr. Lachlan Bowtell, Regional Manager – Middle East and Africa, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), the international marketing arm of Australian meat and livestock producers.
Mr. Bowtell added that, “MLA has consistently participated in Gulfood and supported the event’s various activities. In addition to our stand in the Australian Pavilion, we have sponsored several activities and taken part in the conferences held alongside the Show, through highly authoritative papers presented by our experts in the field of food safety.”
This year, Australian Meat will once again sponsor two major activities of Gulfood, the Salon Culinaire and Lamb Butchery Competition, in a step that reflects the company’s long-term pledge to support the culinary and butchery excellence in the region.
According to Mr. Bowtell, the UAE as a stand-alone market ranks first globally in terms of Australian lamb products consumption as it has recently taken over the North American market.
“That’s absolutely outstanding considering the vast difference in the population of the two countries and is a clear indication that Australian meat is a coveted commodity for the UAE and the entire Middle East region,” he added.
MLA, which has overseen the leadership of Australian meat products and livestock in the region for over 30 years has also consistently worked with food safety government authorities in the region to share knowledge of Australia’s most rigorous safety rules and procedures for meat production and ensure the efficiency of local systems. As an instance, MLA has taken initiative to foster the training of would-be food inspectors from the region in Australia, a training program that has been running for 10 years now.