From February 17 to 22, the Dubai World Trade Centre hosted Gulfood 2025, one of the world's largest and most influential food and beverage exhibitions, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The leading food trade show in the Middle East set a new record with over 5,500 exhibitors from 129 countries, showcasing more than a million products.
With the support of Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and other partners, the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office organized two National Stands under the Trade with Ukraine export brand. The National Stand of Ukraine (Hall Trade Centre Arena, Stand S-151) featured 10 food producers, including seven organic exporters. Meanwhile, the first-ever National Dairy Stand of Ukraine (Hall Al Mustaqbal Plaza, Stand MP-D18) presented producers of cheese, cheese snacks, butter and spreads, milk, cream, and plant-based dairy alternatives.
For the first time, the Ukrainian Pulses and Soybean Association (UBSA) had its own exhibition space (Hall Za’abeel Plaza, Stand ZP-C3), featuring four domestic companies. Additionally, Ukraine was represented at collective stands (S2-D44 -S2-E61 / S2-308-316) organized by the Ukrainian Export Alliance and the Export Support Center of the Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Ukrainian HORECA Cluster.
In total, 52 Ukrainian companies participated in the event, showcasing a diverse range of export products, including organic goods, grains, legumes, snacks, nuts, baby food, frozen fruits and vegetables, juices, dairy products, oils, flour, pasta, baked goods, confectionery, seeds, eggs, sauces, tomato paste, meat products, semi-finished foods, and food additives.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to the UAE, Dmytro Senik, visited the National Stands, emphasizing the opportunities created by the Ukraine-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). This agreement facilitates free trade and market liberalization, allowing Ukrainian agricultural companies to export products to the UAE without import duties.
During his recent visit to the UAE, Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitalii Koval, highlighted that CEPA ensures predictable trade conditions, eliminates export barriers, and boosts trade turnover between the two countries. Key Ukrainian exports benefiting from duty-free access include beef, lamb, dairy, and processed foods. The agreement also opens doors for joint ventures between Ukrainian and Emirati businesses.
Over 530+ B2B meetings were conducted by exhibitors at the National Stand of Ukraine, attracting importers from India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Georgia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Greece, Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, the UK, Turkey, Italy, and Croatia. Meanwhile, participants at the National Dairy Stand held over 300 B2B meetings with business representatives from Cyprus, Israel, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, the UAE, India, Brazil, Germany, Morocco, Malaysia, Thailand, Tajikistan, Panama, Lebanon, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. For all dairy companies, this marked their debut at Gulfood.
Notably, two Ukrainian companies from the national stands were nominated for the Gulfood Innovation Awards 2025.
