Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA); Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) completed preparations to launch the 10th edition of SIAL Middle East 2019, to be held between December 9 - 11.

Set to be biggest edition since its launch in 2010, the event is organised by ADNEC in cooperation with French “Comexposium” Group, one of the largest international exhibition and conference organisers, and in strategic partnership with ADAFSA under the theme “Defining Innovation in the Food, Beverage & Hospitality Industry”. Local, regional and international specialty establishments will highlight the latest innovations, technologies, global food security and future global trends in the food, beverage and hospitality industry.

A press conference was held today (Tuesday) at ADNEC to announce the developments, and was attended by; Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Group Chief Commercial Officer, ADNEC; Saeed Al Mansouri, Executive Director, IDEX LLC, a subsidiary of ADNEC; Nasser Al Junaibi, Acting Director General, ADAFSA ; Helal Al Hameli, Deputy Director General of Abu Dhabi Chamber; and Eng. Thamer Al Qasemi, ADAFSA's Spokesperson.

Established as one of the region’s best platforms offering valuable investment opportunities to companies in the food and beverage and hospitality industry, the SIAL ME Exhibition will welcome record numbers of over 1,143 participants with an increase of 5%, from over 50 countries with an increase of 2% compared to last edition.

Additionally, the exhibition will host many events, activities, awards and workshops by industry experts, encouraging business development.

Economic contribution

Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Group CCO of ADNEC, said: “SIAL ME, one of the world's leading food, beverages, and hospitality events, is a testament to the success of ADNECs' strategy, aiming at promoting the future of the business tourism sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, by supporting existing events and enhancing their competitiveness and ability to attract exhibitors and specialists from all over the world.”

Al Qubaisi added: “Since its inception in 2010, the exhibition has witnessed more than AED 34 billion worth of deals, with 7,600 exhibitors and 154,000 experts and specialists from around the world. Contributing AED 819 million to Abu Dhabi’s Economy. "

The biggest edition

Saeed Al Mansoori, Executive Director of IDEX, a subsidiary of ADNEC, said: “The 10th edition of SIAL ME 2019, the largest in its history, is set to grow significantly in terms of local and international participation in the food, beverages, and hospitality sectors. The total area of ​​the exhibition increased to 22 thousand square meters, a growth rate of 14% compared with the area allocated for the previous edition, which amounted to 18 thousand square meters. “

Al Mansoori added: "This year, 31 national pavilions will be showcased at a growth rate of 3%, while the proportion of participating national companies has increased to 40% of the number of exhibitors, while the UAE pavilion has increased by 35% compared to the previous edition."

Encourage innovation

Nasser Al Junaibi, Acting Director General of ADAFSA, said: “ADAFSA is proud of the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, Chairman of ADAFSA, for a full range of events and exhibitions related to enhancing food security in the Emirate and the region, such as the International Agricultural Investment Exhibition "Agriscape", SIAL ME, and Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition. In addition to hosting ​The Second Global Meeting of the FAO/WHO International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and associated regional meetings, as well as, the Food Forever exhibition organised by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, which is dedicated to promoting efforts to reduce food waste. “

Al Junaibi added: “SIAL ME is a platform to encourage innovation in the food, beverages, and hospitality industries, and provides valuable investment opportunities in the region's rapidly growing food industry, providing an opportunity to interact with emerging food markets, creating valuable investment opportunities, and creating partnerships that will develop economic entities that promotes growth in the food, beverage, and hospitality sector, reflecting positively on many sectors such as industry, tourism and other key economic sectors. “

International destination

Mr. Helal Al Hameli, Deputy Director General of Abu Dhabi Chamber, has confirmed that Abu Dhabi Chamber is committed to participate in SIAL ME on annual basis, as it represents a major destination for international producers and manufacturers of food, beverages and related equipment.

Al Hameli praised the achievements of SIAL since 2010 to date in terms of the total economic contribution to the economy of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as attracting thousands of local and international exhibitors, which indicates that the food and beverage sector is the second largest economic industry in the UAE.

Al Hameli stressed that the Abu Dhabi Chamber is sponsoring SIAL ME 2019 as the host sponsor, and that it is always committed to supporting and stimulating the private sector to invest in the food and beverages industry through creating investment opportunities, international relations network, successive participation in sponsoring this exhibition, and inviting members from the private sector and in relevant fields to participate as well as providing logistical services that contribute to the success of this event. ​

For his part, Eng. Thamer Al Qasemi, ADAFSA's Spokesperson, praised the outstanding level of the exhibition and spoke on behalf of His Excellency  Dr. Abdul Wahab Zayed, Secretary-General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, during the conference, saying: “Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition 2019 is a quantum leap in the number and quality of participants in the exhibition, where the number of specialised companies producing dates were 75 exhibitors representing 13 countries from all over the world. The number of farmers and producers of dates were 15 from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 10 from the UAE, and 10 From the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 8 from the Kingdom of Morocco, 7 from Palestine, 7 from the Arab Republic of Egypt, 5 from the Republic of Sudan, 6 from the Republic of Tunisia, 3 from the State of Libya, 1 from the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, 1 from the United States of America, 1 from India, and 1 from Australia. "

Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition

This year, the Exhibition will also include the fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi Date Palm Exhibition, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, Chairman of ADAFSA and under the supervision of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation. This exhibit is the world’s only dedicated B2B event for date palm fruit and the largest international platform that offers exhibitors the opportunity to present their products and enhance their presence in the global market. The exhibit will host over 100 specialised exhibitors and 3,000 buyers from across the Middle East.

SIAL Innovation

The events highlights innovation through “SIAL Innovation” as a key aspect of SIAL Middle East, which focuses on food products and provides participants with the experience required to identify future trends in the foods and beverages sectors. This is in addition to the “SIAL Innovation” award limited to the exhibitors and evaluated by “XTS Global Innovation” and represents an ideal platform to showcase new and innovative products to industry stakeholders as the winning producer gains the opportunity to showcase their product in all global SIAL events.

Hosted Buyer Programme

SIAL ME includes a host of interactive events, including Hosted Buyer Programme supported by ADAFSA, and forms an integral part of SIAL ME 2019. The event is a dedicated private space for Hosted Buyers to meet with a selected batch of exhibitors, which enhances the level of external contracting condition through 'Speed Networking Sessions'. Last year, this initiative attracted over 470 event organisers in the foods and beverages industry from 50 countries to meet with suppliers and obtain new products.

The UAE National Coffee Championships

The Exhibit schedule also focuses on the interests of individual consumers, including coffee products and related interactive competitions as a number of these activities will be hosted to attract the public and encourage them to attend and participate in the events of the Exhibition. Coffee products will have a strong presence in this year's exhibition. The UAE National Coffee Championships will bring together the world's best baristas who will participate in competitions like the “National Latte Art Championship” and “National Cezve/Ibrik Championship” endorsed by the Specialty Coffee Association that aim to continue the development of expertise in this field in the UAE and enhance awareness of the coffee culture.

The Latte Art Championship challenges the baristas and highlights their artistic skills in a competition format. Baristas are judged based on visual attributes, creativity, identical patterns in the pairs, contrast in patterns, and overall performance. While the “National Cezve/Ibrik Championship” seeks to highlight the skills and talents of the barista to showcase this traditional coffee preparation technique to produce an amazing cup of specialty coffee. This traditional technique is considered to be one of the oldest forms of coffee preparation that have existed throughout history in the Middle East.

Gahwa Championships

This event will be held in conjunction with SIAL ME 2019, the activities of the Gahwa Championships will take place between 9 - 11 December 2019 under the patronage of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, with the aim of reviving the heritage and traditions of Arabic coffee as an important aspect of the culture of the region. The Arab Coffee Championships comprise five categories, all of which aim to assess participants' knowledge and proficiency in terms of coffee heritage, selection and roasting of coffee beans, and processing and presentation of coffee to guests. The tournaments also award prizes to the roasting categories and the best innovative drink in Arabic coffee.

La Cuisine

Organised by the Emirates Culinary Guild, in collaboration with the World Association of Chefs’ Societies, La Cuisine at SIAL is the region's largest culinary competition and a favorite meeting point for catering professionals. This year’s event will host over 1,000 main competitors from around the region to participate in ice sculpting and live cooking competitions with leading chefs.

Roaming Chefs

Senior executive chefs representing regional and international hotels and restaurants will take guided tours around the show number of times during the day to discover new and innovative products. Over 800 meetings will be coordinated and organised at the event.

The Food Forever Experience

In line with its strategic objective and commitment to reducing food waste and promoting responsible and sustainable consumption behaviours, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, in collaboration with the Food Forever Initiative, is organizing a major culinary initiative and challenge. The aim of the challenge is to diversify available foodstuffs within the food & beverage industry and turn the spotlight on locally sourced food produced in the UAE. The challenge will see the participation of multiple international professional-grade chefs coming together to create a wide range of dishes. The initiative will highlight the importance of food diversification as a contributor to ensuring resource sustainability and enhancing food security. The culinary challenge is part of the second Global Food Forever meeting to be held in conjunction with the exhibition. ​

Food Art

SIAL ME will also host the Food Art event hosted by the national culinary and confectionary arts training centre, established 2016 in Abu Dhabi with professional standards to develop and promote the national food market to reach the world.

ADNEC hosts SIAL Middle East 2019 in cooperation with French “Comexposium” Group, one of the largest international exhibition and conference organisers. It is also organised in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Agriculture & Food Safety Authority, as well as the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in collaboration with the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation as Host Sponsors; Abu Dhabi Chamber, as Host Sponsor; Emirates Food Industries & National Feed and Flour Production & Marketing Co. LLC, as Platinum Sponsors; ZonesCorp, as Gold Sponsor; Royal Horizon, as Silver Sponsor; The Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development as an investment partner, Lulu Group, as Retail Partner; Etihad Holidays, as Official Travel and Destination Management Partner, the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, as Cultural and Tourism partner, and Agthia, as Food & Beverage partner.