Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of The Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), the tenth edition of SIAL Middle East, the exclusive regional food, beverage and hospitality trade event, will run from 9th to 11th December 2019 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).
The event is organised by ADNEC Group, in collaboration with Comexposium and The Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority.
Since its inception in 2010, SIAL ME has seen over Dhs 34 billion worth of deals done, 7,600 exhibitors and 153,900 experts from across the world, resulting in a total direct and indirect economic impact of Dhs 819 billion on the Emirate’s economy. The impressive numbers showcase the importance and impact of SIAL ME and how it both continues to evolve and become a mainstay for the people of the food and beverage industry.
Expected to draw the participation of over 1,000 exhibitors, more than 30 country pavilions and over 20,000 industry experts from more than 50 countries, the upcoming edition of the event is set to mark a significant growth in terms of participation from leading local, regional and international organisations working in the food industry.
HE Saeed Al Bahri Salem Al Ameri, Director General of Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority, said: “SIAL ME has rapidly become one of the most important events in the food and hospitality industry in the region. It has become a gathering for major exhibitors from around the world, making it a platform to promote innovation in these sectors.” He explained that the event has become a hub that offers valuable investment opportunities in the region’s rapidly growing food sector, as it provides an opportunity to interact with emerging food markets, presenting promising investment opportunities and creating partnerships that facilitate the formation of economic entities that promote growth in the food, beverage and hospitality sector, which reflects positively on other industries such as manufacturing, tourism and other vital economic sectors.
“Our responsibility is to motivate the private sector to invest in the food industry, hence we work in all ways possible to create an investment environment in this sector and build a solid partnership between the public and private sector,” he added, confirming that SIAL ME is one of the significant means to help the private sector to explore the growth prospects in the food, beverage and hospitality industries and to see best practices from around the world.
Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO of ADNEC, said: “Within a short time span since its inception, SIAL Middle East has become one of the most anticipated industry events in food-related sectors within the region and beyond and we are very excited to be hosting industry leaders again this year. It provides the perfect platform for networking and interaction with key representatives from major food producers and exporters from across the globe.”
Al Dhaheri said that the high turnout at the exhibition during the past ten years, which was held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, reflects the company’s success in supporting the existing exhibitions and enhance their competitiveness and ability to attract major international companies specialised in various economic sectors.
He revealed that the current edition of the event is organised by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) in cooperation with the French group Comexposium, and that an integrated marketing program has been launched during the past months to promote the exhibition regionally and internationally, through participation in many events in this vital sector, to attract international companies in the food and hospitality industry.
Al Dhaheri explained that ADNEC is currently working with a number of national institutions in the public and private sectors to finalise all necessary preparations for the success of this significant event, in order to present it in a way that works up to Abu Dhabi’s position and reputation at the local and international levels.
The current edition of the event pays great attention to date products in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition, which is the only event in the world that brings together date producers. Last year saw 7,463 visitors attend SIAL Middle East to source coffee associated products, which again will have a major focus this year. SIAL Middle East is closely working with the Specialty Coffee Association to showcase the strong growth of this sector in the region.
SIAL Middle East 2019 returns with support from Host Sponsor: Abu Dhabi Chamber, Silver Sponsor: Royal Horizon, Retail Partner: Lulu Group and Official Travel & Destination Management Partner: Etihad Holidays.
