USMEF eyes opportunities in the Middle East
14/03/2017
The event featured 120 national pavilions and saw the attendance of government officials, representatives of food trade organisations, buyers and traders. It attracted nearly 100,000 visitors from 165 countries.
Dan Halstrom, USMEF senior vice president for marketing, said the Middle Eastern market is changing. US beef has typically been viewed as a high-end product for people in the region, but USMEF now sees increasing opportunities in the family dining sector, he explained. He highlighted countries such as Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain as places where US beef in becoming increasingly popular.
Gulfood 2017 also served as an opportunity to promote US beef to companies from Saudi Arabia. The US regained eligibility to ship beef to Saudi Arabia in 2016 following four years of exclusion. “With a population of about 29 million people, there is definitely demand for high-quality grain-fed US beef,” Mr Halstrom said.
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