AHDB has returned from a hugely successful Gulfood, which saw a record number of red meat and dairy exporters from the UK meet with potential buyers in the Middle East.
Last week, 16 exporters joined AHDB in Dubai at one of the world’s largest food and beverage trade shows, to showcase lamb, beef and cheese from the UK to thousands of key contacts from around the world.
Visitors to the meat and dairy stands had the opportunity to sample UK products and also learn how to make the most of their halal lamb with a butchery demonstration by AHDB’s Master Butcher Martin Eccles.
Minister for Exports Mike Freer also attended Gulfood this year and made a visit to the AHDB stand to meet with members of the export team and speak to lamb exporters about the opportunities and challenges in the market.
AHDB Senior Halal Sector Manager Dr Awal Fuseini said: “AHDB was at Gulfood to showcase our red meat to the world and also interact with major buyers from the Middle East region.
“This is a market which has the potential to grow for our halal sector and we want to build on the good relationships we have already established in this part of the world to continue growing our exports of British lamb.”
AHDB Head of Asia Pacific Jonathan Eckley added: “This year’s Gulfood was a huge success as it gave us a valuable platform to meet with buyers, which is particularly important as we emerge from the pandemic.
“This is the first trade show outside of Europe that we’ve been able to attend in person with our exporters and that face-to-face contact is really important. AHDB was there to help our exporters do business and add value back into the UK supply chain.”
Graham Penny, Commercial Director of Randall Parker – a leading supplier of quality beef and lamb – was among the exporters attending Gulfood.
He said: “Everyone from the region and, now globally, attends Gulfood, so we had the chance to see our customers and rebuild relationships as obviously with Covid we have been unable to see business contacts in person for the last two years.
“The value and support we get from AHDB is second to none. They give us a route to market, they put up the pavilions so that we can make use of them. It’s up to processors to get behind AHDB when they do invest in these events so that we can all benefit and get our products into these important markets.”
This year’s Gulfood attracted thousands of visitors with more than 4,000 companies exhibiting in the 21 halls of food exploration. As well as red meat exporters, AHDB was joined by six dairy exporters from the UK, who were able to showcase their high-quality dairy products to thousands of visitors.
AHDB Senior Export Manager for Dairy Lucy Randolph added: “Gulfood was a fantastic opportunity for our dairy exporters to highlight the exceptional quality and taste of cheese from the UK and make some valuable business contacts in this important market.
“The Middle East is one of the key markets that AHDB is focused on as we know there is great potential for it to grow and we are seeing increased demand for our cheese. We are delighted to have been joined by so many exporters, who all value the support and work of AHDB to deliver new opportunities and help grow our exports further.”
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