As the show's official country partner, more than 100 leading German firms will highlight the latest products and business improvement tools to global buyers and regional companies facing up to increased demand for fully-automated, customised processing and packaging systems. Other industry heavyweights will participate in themed sectors or within more than 24 national pavilions including Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Switzerland, Taiwan, China, Thailand, India, Italy, Austria, France, US and the UK.
According to a GCC Food Industry Report 2013, by Alpen Capital, the Middle East's fast-paced and hectic lifestyle has resulted in its populations spending less time on preparing elaborate meals and consuming an ever greater number of ready-to-eat, chilled, processed, canned, preserved and frozen food.
The growing appetite for processed foods - a trend supported by Frost & Sullivan findings, which indicate processed or pre-packaged food now accounts for more than 50% of the GCC food industry - has led to a renewed drive for efficient manufacturing equipment that increases productivity, reduces staffing costs and caters for more hygienic and sustainable processed goods.
"The heightened preference of regional residents to prefer food that takes less time and hassle to prepare presents significant business opportunities for private sector food manufacturers to explore regional expansion opportunities," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior VP, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC, the Gulfood Manufacturing organiser. "The rise in regional demand for processed and packaged F&B products is already reflected in associated import growth of state-of-the-art food processing and packaging machinery.
"With Germany being a key source of some of the world's finest, most advanced and highly-reliable F&B manufacturing machinery, the presence of more than 100 German companies at the show endorses its credentials as a platform for industry-leading firms to showcase their products to local, regional and international companies eyeing development of Middle East operations and revenue growth."
According to VDMA, the German Engineering Federation, countries in the Middle East have become important and promising markets for German food processing and packaging machinery manufacturers. In 2013, the value of sector-related imports across the region reached AED6.49 billion (€1.4 billion) - with Germany exports contributing more than a sixth of the region's imports.
In the same year, German exports of food processing and packaging machinery to the Middle East amounted to AED1.27 billion (€274 million) - an increase of nine per cent on the previous year, while the UAE alone imported AED1.16 million (€251 million) worth of food processing and packaging machinery - with AED158 million (€34 million) of that coming from German manufacturers.
Due to rising demand and government-led strategies to address an over-reliance on food imports, VDMA has recognised that investment in food processing technologies will be a core element of Middle East countries' ever-increasing investment in homegrown manufacturing industries.
"Constant innovation and the use of the latest technologies are the reason that the German manufacturers of food processing and packaging machinery have expanded their international leading position," said Vera Fritsche, advisor in the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association. "Significantly, the rising population as well as the positive developments happening across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, offer a huge potential for further growth of German exports from this sector."
In addition to the core exhibitions, the show will host the region's largest-ever specialised Hosted Buyer Programme, in partnership with Tetra Pak. With industry representatives from both established and industry newcomers from the Middle East and Africa due to conduct high level networking and investment-driven discussions across the region's food manufacturing sphere, influential buyers will come from countries including Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Iran and Nigeria amongst others.
For more information, go to www.gulfoodmanufacturing.com.
