ABU DHABI 26 February 2019 – Twenty-five Philippine food companies were in Dubai to exhibit in Gulfood 2019 at the Dubai World Trade Center on 17-21 February 2019.
Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Hjayceelyn M. Quintana and Trade and Industry Undersecretary Abdulgani M. Macatoman led the opening of the 241-square meter Philippine pavilion under the FoodPhilippines banner on 17 February 2019.
Taking center stage are Philippine halal-certified products such as fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, rice, coconut products and other by-products, seafood, canned goods, processed frozen meat, banana and sweet potato chips, and other snacks, condiments, noodles, ice cream, organic and health products.
The exhibiting companies in this year’s Gulfood are: Alsons Aquaculture Corporation, Brandexports Philippines Inc., Celebes Coconut Corp., Century Pacific Food Inc., Columbia International Food Products, Inc., Fitrite Inc., Gem Foods International, Inc., Krystle Exports Phil., Inc., Leonie Agri Corp, LTH Food Industries Inc., Mama Sita’s, Marikina Food Corporation, Market Reach International Resources, Mega Global Corporation, Monde Nissin Corporation, Philippine Grocers Food Exports, Inc., Phil-Union Frozen Foods, Inc., Pixcel Transglobal Foods Inc., Profood International Corporation, Q-Phil Products International, Sagrex Food Inc., San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc., See’s International Food Mfg. Corp., SL Agritech Corp., and Super Q.
Also present at the opening were other Philippine officials, namely Ambassador to Bahrain Alfonso A. Ver, Consul General to Dubai Paul Raymund P. Cortes, Commercial Attaché Charmaine Mignon S. Yalong.
Ambassador Quintana and Undersecretary Macatoman had talks on the sidelines and committed to promote the Philippine halal industry in the region.
With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Accreditation Bureau and the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, bilateral trade between the Philippines and the UAE, particularly on halal products, is expected to grow and expand.
Philippine global fast food chains and Filipino restaurants in the UAE are also creating awareness on product innovation and sustainability of Filipino brands and halal food among industry players and UAE residents at the recently held FilFood 2019, the first Filipino Food Industry Conference in Abu Dhabi.
Ambassador Quintana said that “the Philippines is ready to partake and capture a large portion of the trillion-dollar global halal industry.” She also said that Philippine companies have already acquired international food certifications for all of their products, namely Food and Drug Administration, Islamic Da’wah Council of the Philippines, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, Good Manufacturing Practice, Good Agricultural Practices, Socotec, Kosher Check, Food BRC, EU Accreditation, among others.
The Philippines is a constant participant to Gulfood, owing to the impressive sales and regional reach of the annual mega tradeshow. The Philippine participation was organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, the export promotions arm of Department of Trade and Industry.
Gulfood is considered to be the world’s largest annual food and beverage exhibition. This year’s 24th edition is participated by more than 5,000 exhibitors from 198 countries and attended by an estimated 98,000 visitors.
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For more information, visit www.abudhabipe.dfa.gov.ph
or www.facebook.com/PHinUAE.
