Exporters of high-value Afghan food products will showcase their goods for international buyers this week at the Gulfood Exhibition in Dubai.

More than 50 Afghan businesses are attending the five-day exhibition that began on February 17 to meet prospective buyers, says a USAID statement.
More than half of them are displaying Afghanistan’s finest fruits, saffron, nuts, spices, vegetables and juices at the world’s largest food and beverage trade show.
Last year, Afghan businesses had inked over $30 million in signed and potential deals for Afghan agricultural products.
Bilal Ahmad, president of King Khan Ltd., a Kandahar-based fruit exporter, said: “Gulfood has had a dramatic effect on our ability to generate overseas sales.
“Because of Gulfood, we’ve been able to export 2,000 metric tons in horticultural products,” he added, referring to King Khan’s past participation.
This is the ninth consecutive year that the USAID supported the participation of Afghan traders in Gulfood, which comprises one million square feet of exhibition space for 5,000 exhibitors from the food, drink, and hospitality industries.
Participation in Gulfood comes on the heels of successful USAID-supported trade shows in New Delhi and Mumbai, and Almaty.
In 2018, Afghan agribusinesses signed $278 million contracts for agricultural products.