Gulfood started 20 years ago as a biennial exhibition, with only 65 companies from 13 countries and a total of 1600 visitors. This year’s trade show, organized on February 8-12 was the largest to date, according to data from organizers: one million square feet of exhibition space, more than 4800 exhibitors from 120 countries and over 80,000 visitors.
“Gulfood’s evolution into the world’s largest annual food and hospitality trade event has been meteoric. The 20th anniversary milestone is an opportunity to reflect on the significant contribution the show has made to industries and economies the world over, the growth of thousands of local, regional and international companies, and cementing Dubai’s global standing as a trade, logistics and commerce hub for the food and hospitality sectors,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President – Exhibitions & Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre.
World Food Security SummitA top-level platform to build coherent global governance on food security policy and strategy, the World Food Security Summit brought together ministers, key global policy-makers and senior industry professionals from the private sector to discuss and debate sustainable global agriculture industry, policy reforms, international farmland acquisition strategies and domestic agriculture initiatives, amongst others.With sustainable policies and strategies top of the Summit agenda, Quintin Gray, Agricultural Counsellor, Office of Agriculture Affairs, USDA, revealed five factors he believes should form the foundation of any international food security strategy.
“By 2050, the global population will be over nine billion strong and food demand will increase by 60 per cent,” said Gray. “To tackle this critical issue, we need a sufficient agriculture workforce to incentivize our youth to stay on the farm; we must maximize production on arable land; we must invest in new technologies to increase production; we must explore feasible and sustainable solutions to climate change-related issues, such as water supply; and we must improve the value chain to reduce post-harvest crop losses and waste. These five areas are of paramount importance when exploring food security policy.”Alan Smith, Managing Director, Gulf and Pakistan, Mondelez International, offered insight into how the private sector can aid the food security debate in a session entitled Increasing the Involvement of Corporates in Resolving Food Security Challenges.
“Transforming our agricultural supply chains is an essential foundation for a sustainable future and a key focus for food companies should be to employ innovative agricultural solutions and invest in commodities to ensure food security,” said Smith. “We need to tackle food security for all in an environmentally sustainable way, while generating economic growth and opportunity.”
A thousand ChefsAt this 20th anniversary edition of Gulfood, 1,300 professional chefs showcased their culinary skills at the Emirates International Salon Culinaire in association with Emirates Culinary Guild. A test of creative culinary skills, efficiency and collaboration in tasks ranging from practical cooking competitions to crafting buffet and banqueting show pieces, the Salon’s international line-up of chefs displayed their full repertoire of skills and techniques in front of a panel of 25 renowned experts, mandated by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) to judge culinary events across the globe.“It’s great to see the amazing growth of the Salon Culinaire, not only in quantity – we started in 1987 with 16 competitors – but also in quality. Today the show hosts some of the world’s best talent and it is also the perfect place for chefs to network and share knowledge,” said Uwe Micheel, Emirates Culinary Guild President, organizer of Salon Culinaire.
With thousands of food and beverage products and services introduced every year at Gulfood, the Gulfood Awards – in its sixth edition this year – presented an opportunity to recognize and reward best-in-class excellence and innovation across the region’s food and drink industry. Comprising six categories and 10 different awards, the awards were judged by an international panel of independent industry experts and took place during an evening gala, at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai. Over 1,000 leading industry decision-makers, celebrity chefs, key exhibitors, customers, media and national groups attended the event.