More Than 1,100 international machinery, equipment, product and service suppliers from 52 countries are taking part in the inaugural Gulfood Manufacturing, which opened today in Dubai, UAE.

Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of International Cooperation and Development, inaugurated the event in the presence of Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC); Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and other UAE business leaders.

Running until November 11 at the DWTC, Gulfood Manufacturing is the largest dedicated food processing trade event in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia (MEASA) and features a three-day programme of sector-specific exhibitions, ministerial summits and market-shaping conferences covering the spectrum of the global food production industry.

The event is split into three segment-specific sectors - Food Logistics Middle East, ProPack Middle East and Ingredients Middle East.

Gulfood Manufacturing has been conceived to enable large multinational food producers to explore MEASA expansion avenues and empower regional food manufacturers by providing a one-stop-shop to source the latest ingredients, processing machinery, packaging equipment and logistics, warehousing and cold chain solutions to replace and upgrade production line equipment and enable faster, cheaper and cost-effective production of safer and more reliable products, said a statement.

With 24 official country pavilions spread across the show-floor, Gulfood Manufacturing will also roll-out the global food industry’s largest hosted buyer programme, a mammoth initiative designed to highlight the region’s rapidly expanding food and beverage manufacturing and production infrastructure to influential buyers from countries including Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Iran and Nigeria amongst others.

Gulfood Manufacturing will also host the two-day Food & Beverage Industrial Investment Summit, a strategic investment event bringing together overseas investors and multinational corporations to explore economic, market and manufacturing opportunities across MEASA, the show’s catchment footprint. The summit aims to give attendees and delegates a better understanding of the financial, legal, logistics, cold chain and technology benefits of locating or expanding existing operations in the region. A specialist two-day Bakery Innovations Summit presented by Knowledge Partner, Bakery Initiatives of the Netherlands, will also run during the show, as will the Food Factory of the Future – a unique showcase of cutting-edge food manufacturing technologies presented by Germany’s United Food Technology (UFT).

Meanwhile, the Speciality Food Festival, Seafex, and Sweets and Snacks Middle East - DWTC’s annual trio of niche food shows – and the co-located World of Perishables Dubai 2014 and Dubai Municipality’s Dubai International Food Safety Conference also opened today.

“The opening day of Gulfood Manufacturing has underlined the intense international demand for a dedicated sector-specific platform to serve the region’s developing food processing and manufacturing sphere,” said Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice-president, events and exhibitions department, DWTC. “This week’s holistic food industry offering at Dubai World Trade Centre will provide global visitors from across the food trade with multiple platforms to learn about, experience and invest in the latest international ingredients, equipment and business improvement tools they need to secure sustainable productivity, profitability and business growth.”  - TradeArabia News Service