Monday 18 / November / 2024
Muscat: A variety of showcased Omani products are attracting visitors, investors, industrialists, business owners, agents and suppliers at the ongoing annual food and hospitality event – Gulfood 2020 in Dubai. The Sultanate’s participation in the exhibition is represented by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates – Madayn in cooperation with Ithraa.
Attracting investments
Eng. Dawood bin Salim Al Hadabi, Director General of Samail Industrial City, stated that Gulfood 2020 is presenting an ideal platform to meet with potential investors who are willing to invest in any of the industrial cities that fall under the umbrella of Madayn including Samail Industrial City. “Samail Industrial City is designed according to the best international standards taking into consideration the environmental and civil defence requirements as well as the social and recreational aspects for the employees based in the industrial city and the population of the wilayat,” Al Hadabi pointed out.
He informed that the total area of Samail Industrial City has touched 7.5 million sqm divided into several industrial sectors, which include the food sector. “We are aiming through this platform to attract new investments to the Sultanate through highlighting the available investment opportunities in Madayn’s industrial cities, and brief the visitors on the incentives included in the new investment regulations of Madayn.
Al Hadabi added that these incentives include lease period of lands and facilities for up to 30 years, renewable for the same period; right to waive the lease right for the remaining period of the contract; right to sell constructions and buildings on the leased land; right to involve new partners in the lease contract; fair evaluation of buildings and facilities upon the termination of the lease contract; developed and equipped lands with basic services (water, electricity, telecom, roads); and transparent legal frameworks illustrating rights and obligations; punctuality in service delivery; in addition to other incentives.
Awareness
Marketing Officials of the Omani companies which are present at the Sultanate’s pavilion at Gulfood 2020 emphasised that such specialised food exhibitions play a key role in spreading awareness on the Omani products to different markets. According to the participants, Gulfood allows the companies to explore potential collaborations and sign bilateral trade agreements.
Maryam Al Ghazali of Al Joudah Food Tech Laboratory explained that the company’s participation in this event aims at creating awareness on the capabilities of Al Joudah Lab in advanced food and water testing as per the local and international standards in food analysis. Al Ghazali added that the exhibition offers an opportunity to interact with food industries, exporters, importers, hospitality bodies, among others, which would eventually contribute to developing the food sector through exploring improvement aspects. Al Joudah Food Tech Laboratory began its operations at Al Rusayl Industrial City in January 2019. As the most comprehensive and trusted private 'Farm to Fork' food testing laboratory in Oman, Al Joudah Food Tech Laboratory is capable of carrying out all chemical and microbiological testing of food products, beverages and water.
Malallah Al Hamadani, Director of Marketing at Oman Foodstuff Factory (Al Mudhish), pointed out that through Gulfood 2020, the company aspires to enhance the spread of its products and boost its exports. “Through our previous participations, our products have been witnessing significant attention from the visitors and the company has been receiving contracting requests. We usually sort and study these requests after the event before proceeding our new collaborations in line with our current and plans,” Al Hamadani said.
On his part, Mohammed Al Balushi, Sales and Marketing Assistant Manager at Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives emphasised that the company makes sure to be present at Gulfood on an annual basis mainly to promote its new products. “In addition to promoting our products, we also focus on getting familiarised with the new trends in the food industry through interacting with the investors and experts from different countries,” Al Balushi stressed. Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives was established at Al Rusayl Industrial City in 1980. The company enjoys around 65 per cent market share in Oman, and its current exports constitute 70 per cent of its total production. Areej manufactures a variety of products, which comprise cooking oils, ghee, margarine, speciality fats, butter and mayonnaise. The company's leading brands include Minara, Sohar, Khafeef, Jabal Akhdar and Muscat Margarine.
It is worth mentioning that several Omani companies and factories from the food industry are participating in this event under the umbrella of Madayn. These companies include Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives, Salalah Macaroni Company, Oman Foodstuff Factory, Omani Vegetable Oils and Derivatives, Sweets of Oman Company, Al Joudah Food Tech Lab, Al Bahja Group, and Al Zain Poultry Farms. Gulfood 2020, which will conclude on Thursday, is witnessing the participation of more than 200 countries represented by 5,000 companies spread over 120 national pavilions.
