52 companies presented Ukraine’s agri-food potential at Gulfood 2025
25 February 2025 17:35
One of the world’s largest and most influential food and beverage exhibitions, Gulfood, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has ended in Dubai. This was reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The main food exhibition in the Middle East has become a record in terms of the number of participants. It brought together more than 5,500 exhibitors from 129 countries, who presented more than a million products.
Ukraine was represented at the exhibition by two national stands. The first one brought together 10 food producers, including 7 exporters of organic products. The exhibitors of the National Dairy Stand of Ukraine included producers of cheese, cheese snacks, butter and spreads, milk, cream, and plant-based alternatives to dairy products. Also, for the first time, the Ukrainian Bean and Soybean Association presented its own exposition at Gulfood: four domestic companies presented their products there.
Two products of Ukrainian companies were shortlisted for the Gulfood Innovation Awards 2025:
Cheese balls from Prime Snack LLC (TM sNeco) in the Best Ready-to-Eat Product category.
Organic unglazed children’s sticks “Apple-plum-vanilla” from Wise WPC LLC (TM Dear Baby) – in the category Best Snacks/Baked Products.
In addition, in the official Gulfood digest, cheese balls from Prime Snack LLC were recognized in the Next Level Product category, which confirms their innovation and uniqueness.
As a result of five days of work, the exhibitors of the National Stand of Ukraine and the National Dairy Stand held more than 800 meetings with importers from different countries.
What is the potential of Ukrainian agri-food exports?
In 2024, Ukraine increased its dairy exports: 117.73 thousand tons of dairy products worth USD 295.03 million were shipped to foreign customers. Compared to 2023, natural exports increased by 8%, and cash revenue increased by 14%. This was reported by the Association of Milk Producers.
The main export categories in monetary terms in December were the following products:
Milk and cream, condensed – 32%;
Cheese – 22%;
Butter – 20%;
Milk and cream, not condensed – 9%.
Ukrainian dairy products are in high demand and have the potential to enter the Middle East and North Africa. In 2024, this market accounted for more than 10% of the total value of Ukraine’s dairy exports.
Exports of Ukrainian organic products from companies certified by the Organic Standard certification body increased by 68% in 2024. These companies account for more than 50% of Ukraine’s total organic exports.
The Organic Initiative NGO, in partnership with the MZ HUB research agency , conducted a study of the status, plans, and needs of Ukrainian organic exporters. According to the survey, which involved 150 companies, 54% of Ukrainian organic exporters plan to enter new markets. The top 10 countries that exporters plan to enter in 2025 are: France, the USA, Switzerland, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Israel. This list of countries almost coincides with the list of the top 10 export countries in 2024. The strategy of exporters remains conservative: 88% of companies continue to export existing products, and only 12% are preparing new items.
