Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy has attended the world’s largest food tradeshow in Dubai today, as annual two-way trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries exceeds $3.2 billion.
“This visit is an opportunity to strengthen our business and trade links between GCC countries and New Zealand by shining the spotlight on our world-class products,” says Mr Guy.
Gulfood is a five-day food show and provides a platform for New Zealand companies to impress 95,000 visitors expected to visit the 5000 stands from more than 120 countries.
“Food and beverage is an important part of our trading relationship, built upon the complementarity of New Zealand’s high quality food offering and many Gulf countries’ food security needs.”
Mr Guy also spoke at a function with over 200 people including New Zealand exporters, local importers and distributors and leading representatives from the hospitality industry.
New Zealand has traditionally been associated with dairy and meat exports but the list of available food products in the United Arab Emirates retail sector continues to grow, rising from thirteen products in 2013, to ninety in 2017.
“A number of our businesses already have a strong presence in this market and are doing exceptionally well selling New Zealand food and beverage products. My visit is aimed at opening doors and helping to further promote New Zealand companies.”
New Zealand’s presence at Gulfood signals the importance of our relationships with the UAE, Gulf countries and the wider region. Finalising the New Zealand GCC Free Trade Agreement is an important next step to enhancing our trade, including food and beverage, even further.
During his visit Mr Guy will also meet with UAE Minister for Climate Change and Environment, HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, and UAE Minister of State, HE Rashid Fahad, to discuss food standards and safety.
These meetings will highlight many areas of future cooperation between New Zealand and the UAE, in particular investment in agritech, water management and food security.
New Zealand companies attending Gulfood 2017 include Fonterra, Tegel, Taylor Preston, Lowe Corporation, ANZCO Foods, NIG Nutritionals, Milkio, NZ Dairy Company, Open Country Dairy and Spring Sheep.
| A Beehive release | March 1, 2017 ||
