The largest contingent of Australian meat exporters to have ever assembled at an international food show is converging to Dubai this week to participate at Gulfood 2010, in a further demonstration of the region’s importance to Australia’s meat industry. A total of 22 meat exporters from Down Under are 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 US$ 180 million red meat products’ trade between Australia and the Middle East.
According to Mr. Lachlan Bowtell, the Regional Manager of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), the international marketing arm of Australian meat and livestock producers, the UAE as a stand alone market ranks second globally only to the USA in terms of Australian lamb products consumption.
“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 said.
“The Middle East is the world’s third biggest region in Australian meat consumption with 2009 shipments in excess of 115,000 tonnes. Only Asia and North America import more Australian meat than this region. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Kuwait are the best performing markets in absolute figures and trends across the region show strong growth in all product segments.”
Bowtell also said: “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 too, MLA is sponsoring two Gulfood activities, namely, the Salon Culinaire held by Emirates Culinary Guild, and the Dubai 5th International Food Safety Conference. Rodney Sims, Technical Manager, MLA – MEA, will head the jury to decide on the Salon Culinaire Beef Class competition. Also, to maintain a long tradition of sharing updated food safety knowledge and expertise with various stakeholders in the region, MLA’s prominent food safety and technical expert, Mr. Ian Jensen, will be a keynote speaker at the 5th Food Safety Conference. Ian Jensen will share the latest findings of scientific research conducted by MLA on meat safety with more focus on meat shelf-life. Immediately after Gulfood, Ian Jensen will take part in a series of workshops to be held by MLA and food safety authorities in the Gulf countries about the latest trends in meat safety.
“Our strong involvement in Gulfood 2010 is yet another 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”, added Mr. Bowtell.
MLA, which has overseen the leadership of Australian meat products and livestock in the region for over 25 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.
