Sunday, Oct 12, 2008

Gulf News

Dubai: The Middle East food service market is estimated to be worth more than $31 billion (Dh114 billion) annually, according to recent studies.

They found that the growing population, relatively high purchasing power and significant rise in the number of tourists are the primary factors sustaining the market's multibillion dollar operations.

Reports have also revealed that the region is the largest consumer of canned tuna from Thailand in terms of export volume, due to the growing demand in the regional food service industry.

Canned and frozen sea-food products are utilised by leading fast food chains across the Middle East and North African (MENA), with most of the products being imported from renowned seafood-exporting destinations such as the US, Thailand and Malaysia.

"The Middle East's food service industry has greatly benefitted from the region's expanding population, rising purchasing power and high volume of tourist inflow.

"This has led to elevated demand for the various product categories offered by this rapidly growing sector," said Raees Ahmad, Director of Orange Fairs and Events.

Canned tuna products have proven to be a top grosser in the seafood category, with the region ranking second only to the US in terms of volume consumption of tuna exports, and purchase of nearly 5,000 full container loads annually. The regional canned seafood market is thus seen by many as an important market.

This year's Sea Food Expo will run from October 27 to 29 at the Madinat Arena Conference Hall at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel.

Sea Food Expo 2008 aims to provide exhibitors the right platform to penetrate a market that demands a wide selection of high quality and specialty seafood and related products.

© Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.

 

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