Sial middle east takes on international flavour with increase in overseas exhibitors

Five new international pavilions added to 2014 floor plan as global producers tap into Middle East market hungry for food imports to satisfy demands of growing population

SIAL Middle East, the region’s fastest-growing professional trade exhibition for the food, drink and hospitality industry, is hosting its most international edition yet, with a total of 27 global pavilions taking part in this year’s event.

Taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) until the 26 November, the fifth outing of SIAL Middle East will play host to five additional international pavilions with a number of first time exhibitors making their show debut and a surge in overseas enquiries from international exhibitors keen to develop partnerships with the GCC food sector.

 “The strength of the UAE’s existing partnerships with global food industry players both in terms of inbound as well as outbound trade activity, is well documented and as we address future issues of food security and continue in our role as a global trade facilitation hub, new partnerships are the way forward,” said Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, Director of Communication and Community Service Division at Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) and Chairman of the SIAL Middle East organising committee.

“More international destinations have targeted SIAL Middle East as a direct entry point into the mushrooming GCC food import market. We have a record 27 international pavilions with exhibitors from five continents this year, with new participants Egypt, Indonesia, Georgia, Lithuania and Sri Lanka each bringing their own unique perspective and products to the UAE,” said Joanne Cook, SIAL Managing Director, SIAL Middle East.
The full line-up of pavilions for this year’s event includes Argentina. Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Georgia, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA and Vietnam.

Native American Indian Nathan Notah of the Navayo Tribe and programme director of the American Indian Foods is attending SIAL Middle East for the very first time. He, and his fellow Native American Indians from Tribes in Alaska, Minnesota and Michigan will showcase products harvested in ways defined hundreds of years ago by the American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives.  

“We have seen great interest from a number of distributers, restaurants, shops and other food outlets who are keen to learn more about our age old traditions and learn more about our expertise in producing all natural products in a sustainable manner.

“Undoubtedly SIAL Middle East has given us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our products and provided an excellent opportunity to begin making connections in the Gulf region. We see great potential in the Middle East markets and extremely excited and honoured to be part of this exhibition.”

Exclusive Lithuanian chocolatiers, Taitau, are showcasing all natural chocolate at this year’s event. Agne Saparnyte, Marketing Manager of the company said; “We are participating in SIAL ME as we felt it was the perfect platform to reach out to new regions, the interest we have seen in our product has underscored this decision and we hope this provides a jump start to distributing in the market.”

Sylwia Czelej-Pyda, from Perlage Water in Poland, highlighted the importance of SIAL and the opportunities it creates across the Middle East. “We have a great product for the region and want to utilize this opportunity to target specific markets. We’re looking to base our business in the UAE and expand from there.”
In 2012, SIAL Middle East attracted 17,000 trade visitors, representing a 37% increase over 2012 figures. The three-day event also hosted 700 exhibitors from 52 countries, which Cook confirms has already been eclipsed with over 1,000 exhibitors already committed.
SIAL Middle East is part of SIAL Group, the world’s largest network of professional B2B food exhibitions which include SIAL Paris, SIAL China, SIAL Canada, SIAL Brazil, SIAL ASEAN Manila and SIAL InterFOOD Jakarta.

For more information, please go to: www.sialme.com