SOME 25 local food enterprises earned $125.43 million in export sales at Gulfood 2026 in Dubai, the Department of Trade and Industry-Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (DTI-Citem) said on Thursday.
Gulfood 2026, regarded as the world’s largest annual food and beverage (F&B) trade exhibition, was held Jan. 26-30 simultaneously at the Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City.
It is a global hub for industry professionals to source products, explore innovation, and discuss trends.
On opening day alone, the Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) racked up $35 million in sales.
They were showcased under the banner of FOODPhilippines, a DTI-Citem branding initiative to spotlight the country’s strengths and advantages as a food sourcing destination.
The Philippine exhibitors were BV&R Commodities, Fly Ace, Global FoodSolutions, Galinco, Krystle Exports Philippines, Lionheart Farms, Marbello’s Processed Foods, Marigold Manufacturing (Mama Sita’s), Marketreach International Resources, Mega Prime Foods, Ngosiok Marketing (Super Q), Oleo-Fats, Pacific Synergy Food and Beverage Corp. (Philippines), Philippine Cinmic Industrial Corp., Philippine Grocers Food Exports, Pixcel Transglobal Foods, P. Togo Corp., Q-Phil International Trading, Sagrex Foods (Golden Saba), Sandpiper Spices and Condiments, See’s International Food Mfg., SL Agritech Corp., Sonya Garcia’s Secret Cottage Restaurant, 3 Sisters Homemade Banana Chips, and Yan Yan International Philippines.
The FOODPhilippines pavilion opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and walkthrough led by Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Alfonso Ferdinand Ver and representatives of the DTI Regional Operations Group. The officials met with participating exhibitors to check out the products and discuss the Philippines’ growing footprint in the global food market.
”These results highlight the depth of our enterprises’ capabilities,” DTI-Citem Department Manager Rowena Mendoza said.
“Moreover, the figures prove that the country, as a food sourcing destination, is more than equipped to make an impact on the global food export arena. Citem intends to build on this momentum in future trade shows and connect more of our enterprises to high-value business opportunities,” she added.
Citem promotes the country as a premier sourcing destination for quality export products and services.
