Dubai Chamber organises business matching session for food and beverage sector

In order to bring food and beverages business leaders face to face with their global counterparts, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a Gulfood Business Matching Session today (Monday) on the sidelines of the ongoing 17th edition of the Gulfood 2012 exhibition at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The business matching session was attended by 88 delegates from 16 countries as 20 business meetings were held between Dubai Chamber members from the Food & Beverage Manufacturing, the Foodstuffs Trading and the Fruits & Vegetables Trading business groups, representatives of the various trade and commercial centers and the regional and global delegates attending the international show.

Highlighting the importance of the business matching initiative, H.E. Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber said the idea behind the business matching session is to provide Dubai Chamber members in the Food & Beverage Manufacturing, the Foodstuffs Trading and the Fruits & Vegetables Trading business groups with the opportunity to share best practice, establish new business alliances across the region as well as the world over while promoting Dubai's position as a central trading hub in the area.

H.E. Buamim further stressed that Dubai is no doubt an attractive starting point for new and established food businesses as the Emirate is a thriving import/export market and caters to a wide variety of investors and exporters using its base to expand their businesses worldwide. Dubai's first-class logistics, transport, and cargo-handling facilities provide the much-needed boost to the business community, he said.

His Excellency pointed to the recent Dubai Traders Outlook 2012 survey conducted by Dubai Chamber which highlighted the traders' expectations for the food and beverages sector which he said is the highest and clearly shows that the traders are expecting an increasingly better performance from the sector this year.

In his welcome address, Mr. Hassan Al Hashemi, Director, External Relations, Dubai Chamber, informed that with millions of dollars spent in the region on importing and exporting food, high population growth and a rise in tourism in the country are boosting demand for international food exporters while also offering them plenty of opportunities for investment and profit from the Emirate's business-friendly environment as Dubai today has become a prominent centre of the exhibition industry in the UAE, he said.

Al Hashemi further stressed that as part of its commitment to the business community, Dubai Chamber has been upgrading its services to cater to the food trading sector and encourages foreign direct investment while it has launched many initiatives to explore new markets for its members and to help them strengthen and enhance trade ties with their local, regional and international partners.

The current edition of the Gulfood exhibition, which sees participation of 3,800 exhibitors and 65,000 visitors, will enlighten the participants with the latest updates and innovations in food production and processing worldwide.