Switzerland Supported Ukrainian Dairy Producers’ Participation in Gulfood for the First Time

Дата публікації: [custom_display_post_created_date]

Switzerland Supported Ukrainian Dairy Producers’ Participation in Gulfood for the First Time

For the first time, the Ukrainian dairy sector, with the support of Switzerland, had its own National Pavilion at one of the world’s largest food exhibitions — Gulfood 2025.

From February 17 to 21 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, five Ukrainian dairy companies had the opportunity to showcase their products at Gulfood.

Gulfood is also a key trade event in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). According to a study by INFAGRO analytical agency, the MENA region is a promising global importer of dairy products from Ukraine, in particular due to relatively convenient logistics, and also demonstrates high growth rates of dairy consumption.   

According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, in 2024, Ukraine exported dairy products to the Middle East and North Africa for a total amount of more than USD 21 million, which is almost 10% of the total volume of dairy exports (0401-0406 HS codes for dairy product groups) in value terms (USD 214.3 million).

The top 5 importing countries of Ukrainian dairy products in the MENA region are Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Three items account for the largest share of shipments from Ukraine to the Middle East and North Africa: milk powder (60% of the total value of dairy exports to MENA in 2024), butter (18%) and whey (12%). 

This year, the exhibition exceeded all expectations, featuring around 5,500 exhibitors from 129 countries.

Among the Ukrainian dairy companies participating are:

Dubnomoloko, LLC (Rivne region) — hard and processed cheeses;
“Ratniv Dairy Factory” LLC (Volyn region) — butter and spreads;
Dairy Company “Galychyna”, LLC (Lviv region) —  long-term storage milk, cream, butter, plant-based alternatives;
Milkmaster LLC (Kirovohrad region) — soft and semi-hard cheeses;
Prime Snack, LLC (Zakarpattia region) — cheese snacks.

«The National Dairy Pavilion at Gulfood 2025 was a debut for all five exhibitors. However, the companies prepared thoroughly: they successfully arranged the delivery of product samples, developed informational materials and even videos in Arabic, pre-scheduled meetings with existing clients, and leveraged networking opportunities through Gulfood’s online platform. Moreover, they participated in the selection process for innovation awards in their respective categories.

Together with the stand organizers, the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” (EEPO), we witnessed strong interest in and recognition of Ukrainian dairy products. Therefore, we will continue to support the export potential of the dairy sector through exhibition activities and by providing information, analytical and consultancy support.

I encourage small and medium-sized dairy enterprises to explore the full range of services offered by EEPO on the Diia.Business portal and to take part in the next company selection for international exhibitions,” saidIryna Vysotska, Dairy Sector Component Coordinator, QFTP.

For details on the company selection process for the exhibition, visit the organizer’s website.

Cheese balls by Prime Snack LLC (TM snEco) were nominated for the Gulfood Innovation Awards 2025 in the Best Ready-to-Eat Product category and were recognized in the official Gulfood Digest as a Next Level Product.

Overall, the participants of National Dairy Pavilion held over 300+ B2B meetings. You can learn more about the profiles and products of the participating companies via the following link.

A detailed overview of the dairy companies’ participation results – here (in Ukrainian only).

Summary of Ukraine’s representation at the exhibition from EEPO via link.

National Dairy Stand of Ukraine (Hall Al Mustaqbal Plaza, Stand MP-D18) at Gulfood 2025 is implemented under the patronage of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and organised by the State Institution Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office (EEPO, Ukraine), the state project Diia.Business and funded by Switzerland within the framework of 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).

For Reference
Switzerland actively supports the development of Ukraine’s dairy sector export potential, particularly by facilitating producers’ participation in international food exhibitions such as ANUGA (Cologne, Germany) and SIAL (Paris, France).

Success stories of dairy companies from previous exhibitions: