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Gulfood project manager Goli Vossough discusses the highlights and improvements expected at this year’s edition of the industry giant.

Looking back at Gulfood 2008, how successful was last year's event?

We were very pleased with the response to last year's exhibition thanks to the highest number of trade visitors to the exhibition - nearly 40,000 people attended.

In addition to the strong presence we experienced from the Middle East, there were also trade delegations from Canada, Egypt, France, Greenland, Iraq, Nigeria, Romania, Thailand, Vietnam, the UK and USA all conducting important business at the show.

What are going to be the highlights of Gulfood 2009?

This year there will be four exciting days of dedicated events and programmes, including the co-located Ingredients Middle East Exhibition, Restaurant and Café Middle East Exhibition, Emirates International Salon Culinaire, the renowned Dubai International Food and Safety Conference and a comprehensive programme especially for the beverage industry.

In bringing together the food and hospitality industry - including Restaurant & Café Middle East, which includes more industrial components such as ingredients, packaging, processing and labeling - the events will form a definitive trade platform and deliver a unique global offering.

What improvements or changes have been made to this year's show?

Following the success of last year's exhibition, Gulfood 2009 is expanding to become the largest trade event of any kind ever held in the Middle East.

The show will take place across more than 80,000m², occupying the entire available space within Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) and also taking space within the additional venue at Airport Expo Dubai, creating a mega-exhibition.

For the first year Gulfood will also be co-located with Ingredients Middle East, an exhibition which caters for suppliers of raw material and ingredients for food, beverages and health food being held at Airport Expo Dubai.

The expansion of Gulfood will provide the space necessary to accommodate the hundreds of international companies who are currently on the waiting list and meet the demands for the Middle East's foodservice market, which is estimated to be worth more than US $30 billion annually.

Of this, the GCC accounts for almost $9.5 billion.

Due to the additional venue at Airport Expo Dubai, Gulfood has been able to welcome various new country pavilions such as Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Korea, Pakistan and South Africa.

What is the interest level for this year's show? Is the demand still there?

We are sold out for this year despite increasing the total floor space. Gulfood 2009 will welcome more than 3300 international companies keen to establish and build upon the region's reputation as an important trading hub.

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