Eleven Yorkshire food and drink companies recently sought new international trade ties at Gulfood, the world's largest food and drink trade show.

The international exhibition brings over 100,000 visitors to Dubai’s world trade centre each year and features 5,000 food and drink exhibitors from around the world. The 2019 edition ran from 17-21 February.

Yorkshire’s representatives were exhibiting as part of a Northern Powerhouse delegation from the Food is GREAT campaign - the cross-departmental programme organised by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for International Trade (DIT). The campaign aims to promote UK food and drink to foreign markets, and to assist businesses with exporting.

The Northern Powerhouse ambassador for the show was David Greenwood-Haigh of Wakefield’s Couer de Xocolt, a master chocolatier experienced in launching chocolate factories around the world.

Other delegates included ExportExchange patron Harrogate Spring Water, and Bradford sausage makers The British Premium Sausage Company.

Avrox Technologies, a North Yorkshire beverage-technology business and patron of the ExportExchange network, became the 1,000th delegate to sign up and attend a Northern Powerhouse trade mission since the missions initiative was implemented in 2016.

Thomas Averre, strategy director at Avrox, said: "British goods and services are renowned for quality and innovation by international buyers. Gulfood this week demonstrated how food and drink is no exception to this.

"We are especially fortunate in that we have a beverage product developed in collaboration with Oxford University, an iconic British institution that international audiences are familiar with.

"The trip was extremely valuable in helping us strengthen existing relationships and building new ones - we're eager to see where discussions with new contacts will take us."