ABU DHABI: Food security has become a major priority in the Middle East where surging demand from a rapidly growing and high-income population has raised annual food imports to over $25 billion. A high-level Ministerial Conference will address this issue and discuss the development of an integrated food policy specifically for GCC countries during SIAL Middle East, the regional version of the world's largest food exhibition. Agriculture, finance, environment and trade ministers from the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Romania, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan will convene in a special keynote session during SIAL Middle East. The high-ranking officials will discuss common GCC standards for food risk assessment and safety, nutrition, emergency response, and effective communication procedures for imminent risk. Of particular interest will be food developments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the GCC's largest food importer with spending of more than $17 billion. The food industry accounts for around 13 percent of total imports and represents the country's fourth largest import sector. The reasons behind the surge in domestic Saudi food demand include high population growth, steady rise in tourism, the suspension of local wheat production, and the need for more foreign workers to support a growing number of projects. “GCC countries import around 90 percent of their food products so they are constantly searching for better and more convenient sources1,” said Fadi Saad, director of SIAL Middle East at Turret. “A positive movement we are witnessing is the region's growing interest in creating a unified food policy. Such a policy would highly benefit Gulf residents as it would set standards for ensuring the sustainability, safety and quality of outsourced foods.” Taking place from Nov. 22 to 24, 2010 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, SIAL Middle East is the latest addition to the largest network of professional food events held worldwide by the SIAL Group. To be held under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the three-day long event is organized by Turret Media in collaboration with Comexposium with the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority as strategic partner. Since its launch in Paris, SIAL has grown into a global food event. Last year SIAL had more than 9,300 exhibitors and over 216,000 visitors from 200 countries. More than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries will be displaying their products and showcasing new innovations during the event. Over 80 percent of the exhibitors belong to the international food industry; many heading for the first time to the region. The show will also feature national pavilions from Argentina, China, France, Hong Kong, Iran, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States.
