Agricultural and Process Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) is participating in the 28th edition of Gulfood 2023 being held in UAE. In order to augment trade, India has been participating in GULFOOD which is a platform that connects food and beverage sectors around the globe, providing ample of opportunities to Indian exporters. Over the years APEDA has participated in Gulfood and brought a strong contingent of suppliers from Indian diaspora. In an area of appx 600 sq. mtr, more than 50 Indian exporters from the different categories like women entrepreneurs, Start ups, merchants and manufacturers showcasing agricultural, dairy, pulses and meat-based produce with focus on Millet and its products through APEDA pavilion, are being showcased.

The India Pavilion was inaugurated by Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries along with Ambassador of India H. E. Sunjay Sudhir, Dr. M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, Shri Sanoj Kumar Jha, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Mr. Muktanand Agarwal, Director, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, officers of APEDA, Indian Embassy, CGI, other stakeholders from Centre & State & exporters.

APEDA is organizing promotions, tasting campaigns, sampling of millet products & biriyani, arranging B2B interactions between start ups, exporters with identified Super markets, awareness cum capacity building programs for Start ups, FPOs and Exporters in Millets producing States, mobilizing start-ups for export promotion of value-added products in the Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and Ready-to-Serve (RTS) category such as flour, noodles, pasta, flakes, pan cakes, ready to eat breakfast cereals mix, biscuits, cookies, snacks, sweets, ready to cook mixes like dosa, idly, khichri, daliya, etc. 

 In Gulfood organized from 20th – 24nd February 2023, there is participation of 5000 companies from 125 countries. In the International Year of Millets (IYOM) 2023, India is participating in GULFOOD with the theme focused on export promotion of millets and its value added products. Indian Pavilion is promoting around 100 delegations of exporters. A Millet gallery has been prepared to showcase Millets and its products by the start ups and new entrepreneurs to provide them a platform to showcase their quality products.

The Indian pavilion at Gulfood 2023 is one amongst the largest pavilion at the show to cater food products exports to more than 125 countries participating in the event. 

APEDA has signed a MoU with Government of UAE through its nodal agency Al Dhara Holding SP LLC for procurement of food and food products from India as well as to sell to buyers in UAE as a part of UAE food security strategy and DP World FZE, a subsidiary of Government of Dubai (A leading provider of worldwide smart end-to-end supply chain logistics, enabling flow of trade across the globe). The MoU signed between both the countries will promote the exports from India to UAE and strengthen the trade further.

GCC  is  India’s major export destination in majority of agricultural and processed food products sectors such as floriculture, fruits and vegetable seeds, fresh onions, fresh vegetables, walnuts, fresh mangoes, fresh grapes, other fresh fruits, betel leaves & nuts, processed fruits, juices & nuts, pulses, sheep/goat meat, processed meat, dairy products, natural honey, groundnuts, jaggery & confectionery, cereal preparations, milled products, alcoholic beverages, miscellaneous preparations, basmati and non basmati rice, wheat, cashew kernels etc. accounting for 42.77% share in APEDA’s agri exports to West Asia-GCC countries.  Export of APEDA’s scheduled products in the UAE market had grown from $69.52 million in 1987-88 to $1604.76 million in 2021-22.

India and UAE are trading partners since several decades. India is the largest producer of a range of agricultural products and has been catering to the global import requirement of agricultural products of UAE. 

India ranks 8th with share of 2.33% in the global agri exports. India’s total Agri Export is USD appx. 50 billion in 2021-22 with a contribution of more than 51% share by APEDA’s agricultural and processed food products export in the Indian agri export basket during 2021-22. UAE is one of our top export destinations. In India’s export of APEDA products, the major products exported during the referred period are non basmati rice, basmati rice, buffalo meat, wheat, maize, miscellaneous processed items, cereal preparations, groundnuts, processed vegetables, processed fruits, juices & nuts, fresh onions etc.

The two nations signed the historic Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 18th February 2022 which strengthened the strategic partnership & aimed at boosting the merchandise trade between the countries to $100 billion over the next five years. 

 There is a shifting paradigm in export of agri products to UAE, the top ten potential products exported to UAE has been changing trends paving way to new additional products in the last few decades, conclusively giving ample opportunities for a range of 15-20 products to put on strong foothold in UAE market. GULFOOD 2023 is a gateway to GCC, West Asia, Europe & Africa.

Trade partnership strengthens export promotion of Indian agricultural and millet products to UAE through MoUs and market initiatives. APEDA is exhibiting at Gulfood 2023 to promote exports of Indian agricultural and processed food products, emphasizing millets and value added RTE/RTS categories. The APEDA pavilion assembles exporters, conducts sampling, B2B interactions, and capacity building, and a Millet gallery highlights start ups. APEDA signed MoUs with UAE entities to facilitate procurement, distribution and supply chain linkages, aiming to strengthen market access and diversify exports to GCC and other regions.