The third annual Halal Expo, the definitive event for halal industry in the region, hosted more than 80 global companies and international exhibitors representing 200 brands from 22 countries.

The three-day event opened on November 10 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

Orange Fairs & Events, organiser of the event, said that the exhibition witnessed active participation from leading international and regional exhibitors from the halal industry, 90 per cent of whom has already confirmed their presence at the next year’s event, which is set to be staged by November 2010.

One of the success stories that emerged during this year’s expo was JES Middle East, a leading exporter of halal beef from Japan, who reported that it has initiated talks with several companies in the hospitality sector.

The company also revealed that participating at the event has provided a good head start in achieving its target to grow its UAE exports to Dh1 million ($272,000) in 2010 and double that figure the following year.

“Halal Expo is truly becoming the region's definitive event for all key players in the industry and this event has offered exhibitors from the halal industry an excellent opportunity to expose their products to a global audience, which is precisely what they need to penetrate the broader market,” said Nafees Ahmed, project manager, Orange Fairs & Events.

“The exhibitors have really exerted considerable effort to prepare for this event and this shows the rapidly increasing global interest in the region's Halal market, particularly in the UAE.”

“We are overwhelmed by the excellent exhibitor as well as visitor turnout at the ‘Halal Expo 2009’. We have seen outstanding business within our three-day run, which underlines the importance of the event among the global industry players and visitors. With the increase in the number of exhibitors this year, we will certainly build on the momentum we have gathered to further expand the coverage and mileage of this event in the future,” concluded Ahmed. – TradeArabia News Service