‘We are very proud to announce the Dutch participation to the Gulfood 2009 in Dubai’ said the Agricultural Counsellor for The Netherlands to the Gulf Region, Mr Philip de Jong.

‘This group of 32 Dutch companies contains suppliers of food and food ingredients as well as specialized manufacturers of processing and packaging equipment. It demonstrates the growing importance of the Gulf market for Dutch suppliers of food, food ingredients and food processing technology.’

The increase in the number of participating Dutch companies is due to the fact that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are now are the most important export destinations of ‘The Netherlands agri-food complex is very innovative and aims to provide top quality products and the latest know-how. Our policy is to strive for sustainable production methods and to work on harmonizing international trade standards. Food quality control receives utmost attention throughout the complete supply chain from farm to fork’ added Mr de Jong.

Experts and businessmen are invited to meet the Dutch participants at the Holland Food pavilion at the Sheikh Rashid Hall and the Holland Equipment Pavilion at hall 2 as well as halls 1 and 3.

The agricultural Counsellor Philip de Jong and his team will be available to assist in establishing business contacts with Dutch agri-food companies.

At Gulfood 2009 also representatives of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) will be present to inform Gulf companies about location advantages and investment opportunities in the Netherlands. ‘The record number of Dutch exhibitors at Gulfood 2009 underlines the strengths of the Netherlands when it comes to developing, producing, processing and distributing food products for global markets’, said Patrick Polman, director Gulf region of the NFIA, the Dutch government agency that is helping and advising foreign companies who wish to take advantage of the Dutch business environment as a strategic base to cover Europe.

‘The Netherlands provides a strategic location to serve markets within Europe, the Middle East and Africa’, Mr. Polman added. ‘The central geographical position of the Netherlands, combined with accessibility and an excellent infrastructure are only some of the reasons why numerous international companies have established their facilities in the Netherlands.’