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Ukraine at Gulfood 2026: participation results and export prospects in Middle Eastern markets

Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, posted 02 February 2026 14:20

Ukrainian producers and exporters presented Ukraine’s agri-food sector at the international exhibition Gulfood 2026, held in Dubai (UAE) from 26 to 30 January. The event traditionally served as one of the key platforms for global trade in food and beverages. This year, the exhibition featured over 8,500 companies from 195 countries, showcasing more than 1.5 million product items.

The exhibition was attended by representatives of the Ukrainian Government: Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka and Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Denys Bashlyk. Also present were the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the UAE Oleksandr Balanutsa and the Consul of Ukraine in Dubai Oleksii Liashenko.

Ukraine was represented this year by more than 70 exporting companies, including producers of organic and processed products. Within the National Stand, 10 domestic companies presented a wide range of products: berries and fruits (frozen, dried, freeze-dried), snacks, juices, cereals, dry breakfasts, baby food and other processed products.

Over the five days of the exhibition, Ukrainian exporters held more than a thousand B2B meetings and established over 50 potential contacts with partners from the UAE, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Israel and other countries. Preliminary agreements were reached regarding the supply of certain types of agricultural products.

Participation in Gulfood 2026 confirmed the high level of international business interest in Ukrainian products and laid the groundwork for further expansion of exports to Middle Eastern markets and beyond.

Among the countries whose representatives expressed interest in Ukrainian products were India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Israel, Poland, Jordan, Turkey, Canada, Oman, Pakistan, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA, Kazakhstan, Qatar, China, Germany, Poland and others.

In addition, the exhibition hosted the inaugural international professional meeting International FoodAgro MeetUp. The event served as a platform for open dialogue between Ukrainian and international exporters, importers and industry experts. The meeting brought together participants from more than 30 countries and focused on practical issues of partnership development, sharing market insights and discussing global trends in the food industry.

Background

The National Stand of Ukraine was organised by the state institution Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office, the national project Diia.Business, the public organisation “United Ukraine” in cooperation with the public union Ukrainian Export Alliance under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine and with the support of Switzerland through three programmes:

  • The Swiss-Ukrainian Programme “Higher Value Added Trade from the Organic and Dairy Sector in Ukraine” (QFTP), implemented by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL, Switzerland) in partnership with SAFOSO AG (Switzerland).
  • The Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP), implemented by UNIDO.
  • The Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), implemented by Swisscontact, the Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation.
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