A new fresh produce exhibition will take place in Dubai in March 2009, to showcase all aspects of the perishables industry in the expanding Middle East marketplace.

The event - WOP Dubai - World of Perishables is being launched by Messe Essen and planetfair, under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai and minister of finance and industry for UAE. It aims to “provide a platform” for the rapidly growing fruit and vegetable industry in the region, as well as the technology, packaging and logistics that drive it.

The inaugural WOP Dubai will be held on March 3-5 in the Dubai Airport Expo Centre. Egon Galinnis, managing director of Messe Essen, said: “With the WOP DUBAI, we are setting up the first annual venue for international professionals from the industry in the most important market of the region.” Michael Müller, managing director of Dubai-based joint venture partner planetfair, added: “Dubai is the transhipment point for fresh produce in the Gulf region. More than a quarter of the products imported there are then exported again to the neighbouring countries. In 2007, that was over a million metric tonnes.”

It is hoped that exhibitors at WOP Dubai will cover the production chain from producer and processor to end consumer. Organisers are co-operating closely with the Dubai Municipality and the 200-firm Dubai Central Fruit & Vegetable Market, the largest trading centre for fresh produce in the Middle East.

For further information, go to: www.wop-dubai.com

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