AEEDC turnout hints at robust industry sales

The Middle East's dental industry seems to be weathering the plunging value of the dollar, exhibitors at the industry's largest trade show have reported.

The UAE International Dental Conference and Arab Dental Exhibition, held last month, snared its largest line-up of dealers yet, suggesting rising product sales are surviving the region's record inflation rates.

The event, now in its twelfth year, hosted a record number of American exhibitors keen to boost export activity to the Middle East.

A spokesperson from the US Commercial Service, the trade promotion arm of the Department of Commerce, said the dental firms hoped to secure a share of the market ahead of rival European manufacturers.

"We have niche products in the US, so we see the opportunity in the market here," she said. "There is a large dental market in the US, so export concerns have traditionally comes second. We are working on spreading the word to US companies that, in the Middle East, the Europeans are beating us to it.

Asian firms also jostled for a market presence, with a number of prominent Korean and Japanese brands advertising for distributors in Saudi and the United Arab Emirates.

Koji Orita, an area manager for equipment manufacturer Takara Belmont, said the firm had tendered for a number of regional contracts, including Sharjah University's College of Dentistry.

The majority of new business for us is through new dental schools and young dentists. Most established dentists here are already familiar with our products."

However, Dr Arif Khan, regional manager for Dentsply's export division, said the firm had not seen a favourable return on its investment in the show, and blamed a lack of footfall to the stand.

"I felt the FDI exhibition was more targeted to our needs," he said. "Here, we see less end users and more interaction with dealers. It's been slow in terms of crowds and dentists. It doesn't give a lot of ROI.

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