From February 17 to 22, the Dubai World Trade Centre (Dubai, UAE) hosted one of the world's largest and most influential food and beverage exhibitions — Gulfood, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. The leading food exhibition in the Middle East set a record for the number of participants, bringing together 5,500+ exhibitors from 129 countries, showcasing over a million product names.

The potential of the agri-food sector 

The Ukrainian agri-food sector was represented by 52 companies across five national pavilions and individual stands. Among the participants were exporters of organic and dairy products, grains, cereals and legumes, snacks, nuts, baby food, frozen vegetables, fruits, berries, juices, oils, flour, pasta and bakery products, confectionery, seeds, eggs, sauces and tomato paste, meat products, semifinished products, and food additives.

This year, under the patronage of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office, with the support of its partners, organized two National Stands under the export brand Trade with Ukraine. As a result: *The National Stand of Ukraine (Hall Trade Centre Arena, Stand S-151) brought together 10 food producers, including 7 organic exporters. **Exhibitors at the first-ever National Dairy Stand of Ukraine (Hall Al Mustaqbal Plaza, Stand MP-D18) included 5 manufacturers of cheese, cheese snacks, butter and spreads, milk, cream, as well as plant-based dairy alternatives.

Both National Stands of Ukraine were also visited by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Arab Emirates, Dmytro Senik. Exhibitors presented their products to him and shared their achievements from the first days of work at the exhibition.
Dmytro Senik emphasized the opportunities provided by the newly signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Ukraine and the UAE. He also encouraged Ukrainian companies to take advantage of the available government support tools for export promotion.

Over five days of productive work, exhibitors at the *National Stand of Ukraine held over 530 B2B meetings. Visitors included importers from India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Georgia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Greece, Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Italy, and Croatia. You can learn more about the participating companies and their products at the following link.

Participants of the National Dairy Stand of Ukraine held over 300 B2B meetings with business representatives from Cyprus, Israel, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, India, Brazil, Germany, Morocco, Malaysia, Thailand, Tajikistan, Panama, Lebanon, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. For all companies in the dairy exhibition, participation in Gulfood was their debut. Learn more about the participating companies and their products at the following link.

Two Ukrainian companies were shortlisted for the Gulfood Innovation Awards 2025:

• Cheese balls by Prime Snack LLC (TM snEco) — in the Best Ready-to-Eat Product category.

• Organic baby food by DPK “WAIZ” LLC (TM Dear Baby) — in the Best Snacks/Baked Products category.

Additionally, in the official Gulfood digest, cheese balls by Prime Snack LLC were recognized in the Next Level Product category, confirming their innovation and uniqueness.

For the first time, the Ukrainian Pulses & Soybean Association (UPSA) was represented with its own exhibition (Hall Za’abeel Plaza, Stand ZP-C3), featuring four Ukrainian companies as exhibitors.

Moreover, Ukraine was also represented by collective stands (S2-D44-S2-E61 / S2-308-316), organized by the Ukrainian Export Alliance (UEA) and the Export Support Center of Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the Ukrainian HORECA Cluster.