The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) based at the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, is pleased to announce the recruitment of qualified importers to participate in the 30th edition of the USDA-endorsed Gulfood trade show in Dubai, scheduled for 17-21 February 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Center. The opportunity is designed to introduce delegates to U.S. suppliers looking to expand exports to Africa.
Gulfood is the largest annual food and beverage sourcing event in the world. The show attracts buyers from the retail, food service, and hospitality sectors, including importers and distributors from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. The 2024 Gulfood trade show attracted more than 130,000 visitors and 5,200 exhibitors, and the USA Pavilion showcased 171 exhibitors, offering a wide range of U.S. agricultural and food products.
This will be a partially sponsored buyers’ mission with USDA aiding to defray some of the cost of attending. Visits to the USA Pavilion and business-to-business meetings will be organized by USDA. Closer to the show, a list of the U.S. companies expected to have booths at the USA Pavilion will be sent out to the recruited buyers and the team at FAS Pretoria will assist in setting up meetings with all the exhibitors that successful buyers would need to meet with.
USDA will be responsible for the following:
- Purchasing commercial economy airfare, South Africa-Dubai-South Africa (Your Country – Dubai – Your Country). Please note that our office will work with you to book your flights through our U.S. government-approved travel agent. We are happy to accommodate your itinerary preferences (different travel dates and/or routing) with the condition that you will be responsible for the additional cost if your preferred itinerary costs more than the economy rate for the route South Africa-Dubai-South Africa (Your Country – Dubai – Your Country) on travel dates 15-22 February 2025.
- Arranging visits to the USA Pavilion and business-to-business meetings with U.S. exhibitors
- Sharing a copy of the 2025 USA Exhibitor List
The sponsored buyer will be responsible for the following:
- Registering to obtain a Gulfood show badge (FAS will provide instructions on this process)
- Obtaining any necessary visas to visit Dubai.
- Airport taxi/ground transportation in both South Africa and Dubai
- Hotel accommodations, meals, and all other expenses associated with this mission, such as health insurance and/or medical expenses.
- Participating in scheduled visits to the USA Pavilion and attending all business-to-business meetings arranged for you by USDA.
- Please note buyers applying to be part of the mission are not required to attend the entirety of the trade show but must participate for at least three (3) days of the show and attend all scheduled buyers’ meetings.
- Providing feedback on Gulfood and the USA Pavilion as well as sharing general information about confirmed or projected imports of U.S. products over the following 12 months because of participating in the show
Interested applicants should complete the form below and submit to Nevolan Reddy (Nevolan.Reddy@usda.gov) no later than 9:00 a.m. on Monday, 13 January 2025.
Thank you for your interest in importing U.S. agricultural products!
