Catalonia at Gulfood 2023, the world's most important fair for food and non-alcoholic drinks

PRODECA is organising the joint participation of 19 Catalan food and drink companies at the international Gulfood fair, held from 20 to 24 February in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), under the brand 'Catalonia, where food is culture', with the aim of contributing to the sector's international trade promotion.

The participating Catalan companies have their own stand and also an area for displaying samples of their products. The Catalan exhibitors at Gulfood 2022 are: 

• CAFÈS AVANTI – Coffee (La Selva)
• CHOCOLATES TORRAS – Chocolates (Pla de l'Estany)
• COMPASS – Drinks (Barcelonès)
• CONFIGIRONA – Confectionery (La Selva)
• DELAFRUIT – Preserved fruit and fruit juices (Baix Camp)
• DIAT RADISSON – Speciality and dietetic products (Baix Llobregat)
• DULCILIGHT – Sweeteners (Tarragonès)
• EL ABANICO HALAL – Halal cured meats (La Garrotxa)
• FARRAS AUTENTIC – Lamb (Alt Penedès)
• FFAIGES – Olive oil (Baix Ebre)
• FRICAFOR – Beef (Conca de Barberà)
• HALFOODS – Halal cured meats (Vallès Oriental)
• GRUP PONS – Olive oil (Segrià)
• IDILIA FOODS – Cocoa and cocoa products (Barcelonès)
• MADAGASCAR TASTES – Food (Moianès)
• MCWORLD TRADE AND FOOD - Food (Alt Empordà)
• PROASIS – Frozen desserts (Gironès)
• VDA. PIFARRÉ – Sweets and confectionery (Urgell)
• VIAGGIO – Coffee (Vallès Occidental)

Gulfood, the benchmark fair for the Middle East market

The Gulfood is the world's largest annual exhibition of food and non-alcoholic drinks companies, turning Dubai into the hub of the sector's international trade for the event's five days. It is a strategic fair for food companies wanting to establish trade contacts in the Middle East, Asia and East Africa.

Gulfood brings together more than 5,000 exhibitors from 125 countries across 120,000m² of exhibition space. The 2022 edition registered 93,000 visitors from around the world and more than 20,000 product lines. Visitors were mainly importers, distributors and wholesalers, followed by foodservice and hospitality professionals, retail and institutions.

The agri-food sector in the United Arab Emirates

The UAE has become one of the main re-export hubs for the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, thanks to its strategic location and advanced logistics, with highly sophisticated storage and inventory systems and very well established transport  routes. It re-exports roughly 30% of imported products to 140 markets worldwide.

The country has a growing population and emerging tourist flows, despite last year's obvious containment measures, which has stimulated demand for high-quality, organic and speciality food. The UAE's food and drink sector is estimated to need to quadruple its volume over the next five years to meet demand from hotel projects and retailers. The UAE has more than 16,000 food outlets (supermarkets and restaurants).