The three-day international exhibition at ADNEC Centre expands consumer access with ‘Shop at the Show’ while hosting high-level global summits on agricultural technology and food security.
ABU DHABI, Oct. 2, 2026 : Global Food Week 2026 will open on October 6 at the ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi, bringing together international agriculture ministers, agribusiness leaders, and research institutions under an expanded format that names India as its official Guest of Honour.
Organised by ADNEC Group in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), the three-day international gathering runs through October 8. This year’s edition introduces major structural additions designed to bridge commercial transactions, policy negotiations, and direct consumer engagement.
India’s role as Guest of Honour underscores strengthening bilateral trade and investment corridors between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. India’s presence centers on an expansive national pavilion designed to connect Indian agri-producers, exporters, and logistics enterprises with Gulf buyers and sovereign food security funds. The platform will facilitate business-to-business deal-making across crop export logistics, cold-chain infrastructure, packaging innovations, and agritech capital investments.
Alongside institutional diplomacy, India’s showcase will feature regional culinary demonstrations and cultural exhibits, highlighting its export varieties to UAE commercial distributors and the wider diaspora.
For the first time, organizers are launching “Shop at the Show,” an integrated business-to-consumer retail section operating across exhibition halls. The platform allows attending consumers and culinary professionals to purchase directly from local and international producers, covering goods such as raw honeys, organic dates, specialty beverages, and packaged goods.
Interactive industry segments return alongside the direct retail launch. The World Gourmet Show will feature international chefs demonstrating zero-waste culinary techniques and proprietary recipes using ingredients displayed by exhibitors. A dedicated Farmers Market and Honey Tasting Station will connect consumers directly with Emirati farmers and global apiarists.
On the commercial front, the Hosted Buyers Programme will schedule pre-vetted negotiations between agricultural suppliers, distribution executives, and institutional buyers. A dedicated Announcements Stage will handle bilateral pact signings, cross-border joint ventures, and agricultural patent releases.
Policy summits form the analytical core of the event:
- Global Food Security Summit (GFSS): Convening on October 6 and 7, discussions will center on resilient cross-border supply chains, trade corridors, food cluster scaling, and technological parity for smallholder farmers.
- AgriTech Forum: Running all three days, sessions will assess artificial intelligence integration in desert cultivation, precision irrigation systems, and bioscience innovations.
- FAO Policy Majlis & YalaFast: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization will host regional policy dialogues addressing agrifood systems transformation across the Near East and North Africa, alongside its YalaFast youth leadership initiative.
- Abu Dhabi Honey Symposium: Organised with the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations (Apimondia), the symposium focuses on arid-zone beekeeping and ecosystem protection, concluding with a field research day on October 8.
- Animal Health Framework: A technical workshop convened with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) will address cross-border biosafety, livestock disease surveillance, and safe trade pathways between GCC and African markets.
