Industry events
IAOM MEA 2017 Tom Blacker reports from the IAOM Middle East and Africa event: the fasting growing regions with exponential potential
The International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Middle East and Africa Event and Conference 2017 was again a successful conference and exhibition for all involved. The venue was again the Dubai World Trade Centre’s Sheikh Rashid Hall from Sunday 22 - Wednesday October 25, 2017. This was the 28th year of the exhibition and conference and the fourth time Dubai had hosted the event since 1992. The Middle East and Africa combines some of the fastest growing regions for the food industry and is establishing itself more in alternative industries away from the dominant sectors of oil and gas. IAOM MEA 2017 impressively showcased the event from the moment a delegate entered, it was clear that the growth of the exhibition booths and quantities had meant an enlarged space to 5000 metres squared floor space. The exhibition was directly next to the conference in the Sheikh Rashid Hall. Around 900 delegates attended with millers being around 40 percent of the total, which is a good balance according to Ali Habaj, Regional Director for IAOM MEA. Habaj also said this is the most diverse range of attendees for all of IAOM’s annual events and bodes well for the future of the international industry group.
Background
A week before this year’s events, a successful five-day training course for millers in Arabic was organised, which attracted a total 34 millers from: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The honoured guest of note at the 2017 Conference and Expo was Egypt’s Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, His Excellency Dr Ali Elsayed Ali Elmoelhy, who partook in the Wheat Imports: Middle 108 | November 2017 - Milling and Grain
TUSAF Committee visit Görkem Alapala (sixth from right) and colleagues at the Alapala stand L-R: Emre Tan, Member of the Board - Tanis with Darren Parris, Global President - Milling and Grain