The seventh annual SIAL Middle East exhibition, the fastest growing event for the region’s food, drink and hospitality sectors, concluded on Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) with a record number of deals worth AED 3.8 billions.

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and opened by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. the three-day showcase witnessed a string of major onsite announcements.

The major deals included contracts signed by the General Command of the Armed Forces worth AED763 million. Jennan Investments signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sudanese Finance Ministry to establish the biggest date palm farm in the world, with a total of 221 million trees to be planted in Sudan over a 13 year period.

Thamer Al Qasemi, Chairman of the organising committee for SIAL 2016, said:"SIAL has witnessed unprecedented growth during the last seven years, in 2010 we had eight national pavilions, 7,200 visitors and floor space of 4426 square metres. Now, visitors have grown to over 22,000, we have 30 national pavilions and floor space has more than trebled to 14,220 square metres, underscoring the appetite and strategic importance of the event. Show content is evolving to provide a broad overview of food trends and innovation and further highlighting the importance of the event.

"The success of this three-day event, now one of the biggest food and beverage showcases in the region, is attributed to the support of the Abu Dhabi Government and the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which has been instrumental in developing the show to the record numbers we have seen this year."

Out of over 150 entries, the SIAL Innovation World Champions awards’ showcase was won by Northern Irish food producer Mash Direct for its Crispy Vegetable Bakes. The Silver Award was presented to Al Ain Diary for their Breakfast Milk while Icelandic food company, Complete Global International Apoly Trade., was awarded the Bronze prize for their Vikingur food supplement.

Commenting on SIAL’s expanding role in the region’s food and beverage industry, Fadi Saad, SIAL Managing Director, SIAL Middle East, said: "Innovation in the food industry is not only trending around the globe, it is accelerating thanks to the digital environment we all live in and it is an aspect that we have been keen to showcase."