ADIHEX 2026 Closes With a Record 2,400 Companies From 71 Countries and the Most Expensive Falcon Ever Sold at Auction: AED 2.1 Million (USD 571,000)

2026-09-07

The 23rd Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX 2026) closed at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi on Sunday 6 September 2026 with a record 2,400 companies and brands from 71 countries and 55 local and international falcon-breeding farms over its 10 days, the exhibition’s official spokesperson Abdulaziz Mohammed told the Emirates News Agency (WAM) at the conclusion of the show. At the eighth and final live falcon auction on the closing day, a Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon bred in the United States sold for AED 2.1 million (USD 571,000), which the organisers describe as the highest price ever paid for a falcon at auction. The previous record, SAR 1.75 million (about USD 467,000), was set at the International Falcon Breeders Auction in Riyadh in 2021, according to Khaleej Times. Three falcons sold for more than AED 1 million during the 2026 edition, against a total of AED 2.199 million for all eight falcon auctions of ADIHEX 2025. This article sets out the closing figures, the full auction results, the rules that govern the trade in falcons and exhibition goods in the UAE, and what the numbers mean for a company that sells to the Gulf’s hunting, equestrian and outdoor market.

ADIHEX 2026 closing figures against 2025

The closing statement confirms the scale announced at the opening on Friday 28 August 2026: the show grew by 17% in space and in the number of participating companies, ran for 10 days for the first time since its launch in 2003, and covered 15 sectors, from falconry and equestrian products to hunting and safari tourism, veterinary services, camping equipment, recreational vehicles, fishing and marine sports, camels, Arabian Salukis and knives. We covered the opening numbers in our article on the record 2,405 exhibitors at ADIHEX 2026. The organiser is ADNEC Group, part of Modon, in partnership with the Emirates Falconers’ Club, under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the club. The theme of the 2026 edition was “A Legacy of Pride”. The visitor total for 2026 had not been published at the time of writing; the 2025 edition drew 379,572 visitors over nine days.

Sources: ADNEC Group press releases of 7 September 2025 and 29 August 2026; WAM and Gulf News of 7 September 2026; Khaleej Times and The National of 7 September 2026.

The auction results: three falcons above AED 1 million

The 2026 programme was the largest auction programme in the exhibition’s history: eight live falcon auctions (four on the weekends before the opening, on 15 and 16 August and on 22 and 23 August, and four during the show, on 29 and 30 August and on 5 and 6 September), an online elite falcon auction that ran alongside the live sessions, and the first live horse auction in ADIHEX history, held in the Arena on Friday 4 September with purebred Arabian horses as well as Friesian, Andalusian and show-jumping horses and ponies. Birds from 55 breeding farms were offered, 20% more farms than in 2025, and the prices rose through the show.

Sources: ADNEC Group press release of 29 August 2026; Gulf News of 30 and 31 August 2026; Khaleej Times and The National of 7 September 2026.

After the AED 1.5 million sale, Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNEC Group, said that “the exceptional calibre of the falcons participating in these auctions reflects the global standing they have achieved through the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition”. The organisers describe the Gyr Pure Ultra White as prized for its exceptionally rare white plumage, pure lineage and striking appearance, which made it the most sought-after type in this year’s sales. The buyers of the three birds were not named. For comparison, all eight falcon auctions of ADIHEX 2025 together produced AED 2.199 million in sales from 21,795 registered participants in person and online, and the camel auctions of that edition added AED 1.7 million.

The world record and the Riyadh benchmark

Until 6 September 2026 the highest auction price for a falcon was SAR 1.75 million (about USD 467,000, or AED 1.71 million), paid for a gyrfalcon at the International Falcon Breeders Auction in Riyadh in 2021, the annual sale organised by the Saudi Falcons Club. The Abu Dhabi result exceeded it by roughly 22% in dollar terms. The two auctions draw the same breeders from North America and Europe and the same buyers from the Gulf, and the ADIHEX sales of 2026 also show the range of the market: one US farm sold birds for AED 1.5 million and AED 1.1 million within two days, while the pre-show session of 15 August topped out at AED 250,000.

Falcons are a regulated trade: CITES and the falcon passport

A sale at AED 2.1 million is also a customs and wildlife-permit event. The gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), so every cross-border movement of a bird needs CITES documents: an export permit or certificate of captive breeding from the country of origin and, on the UAE side, an import permit from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), the UAE’s CITES management authority. To simplify travel for falconers, the UAE introduced the falcon passport in 2002 under CITES Notification to the Parties No. 2002/062: a certificate in passport form issued to the keeper of a legally acquired falcon, valid for three years, which replaces individual CITES certificates on trips to countries that accept it. The document records the owner’s details, the bird’s sex and species, its country of origin, whether it was captive-bred or taken from the wild, and its CITES appendix. By September 2013 more than 28,000 falcon passports had been issued, according to Gulf News. An auction buyer therefore receives a bird whose legal origin is documented, and a breeding farm that wants to sell in the UAE between shows, through a shop, a training centre or a veterinary partner, needs a licensed local counterparty or a company of its own for that activity.

Exhibiting in Abu Dhabi: stands, samples and the ATA Carnet

Most of the 2,400 participating companies came to sell equipment rather than birds: sports guns and optics, camping and overlanding gear, recreational vehicles, veterinary products, saddlery and falconry telemetry. For a foreign exhibitor the practical questions are customs and licensing. The UAE joined the ATA Carnet system on 1 April 2011 as its 69th member, and Abu Dhabi Customs has accepted carnets for the temporary admission of goods since 1 October 2011. The carnet lets exhibition goods, professional equipment and commercial samples enter without payment of duty and VAT on condition that they are re-exported, and the UAE normally limits the period to six months. In the UAE the document is issued by Dubai Chambers against a guarantee. Goods that are sold at the show must instead be cleared for import with duty paid, and orders taken at the stand for delivery after the show need a UAE counterparty to import, invoice and service them.

What ADIHEX 2026 means for a company in the UAE

• The top of the falconry market now has a published price. Three sales above AED 1 million in one edition and a world record of AED 2.1 million give breeders, veterinary clinics, transport companies and equipment suppliers a documented benchmark for the value of the birds they serve, and insurers and banks a reference point for financing and cover.
• Foreign breeders sell in Abu Dhabi through the auction, then need a base. The two Mark Moglich birds and the record falcon all came from the United States. Selling at the auction requires CITES permits for each shipment; selling in the UAE between shows requires a licensed local counterparty or a company of your own; see our company setup service.
• Exhibition goods travel on a carnet, sold goods clear customs. Bring stand equipment and samples on an ATA Carnet, and plan the import of anything sold at the show separately, with duty and VAT at the border.
• A UAE bank account is needed for the orders that follow. Distributors and government buyers pay in dirhams to a UAE account, and a new company should assemble the KYC file before the show season: licence, ownership chart, contracts and the source of funds. Details are in our bank account opening service.
• Staff who run the stand and the after-sales service need visas. Short visits are covered by visit visas; a sales manager or veterinarian based in the UAE needs a residence visa and work permit sponsored by the company; see work visas and residency.
• ADIHEX opens a dense calendar. ADNEC Group has scheduled more than 290 events in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in the second half of 2026, and the country is entering its September 2026 season of business exhibitions; a company that plans two or three shows a year usually does better with a permanent licence than with repeated temporary arrangements.

How Atlant Capital can help

Atlant Capital registers companies on the mainland and in the UAE free zones, including trading, distribution and service companies for the hunting, equestrian, veterinary and outdoor sectors, selects the jurisdiction and the activity list and prepares the licence documents (company setup). We open corporate accounts with UAE banks and prepare the file a bank expects from a new company (bank account opening), and we handle work visas and residency for owners, managers and staff (work visa and residency). Accounting, audit, VAT and corporate tax filing are provided by licensed accounting firms from our partner network.

Conclusion

ADIHEX 2026 closed on 6 September 2026 with 2,400 companies and brands from 71 countries, 55 falcon farms, 10 days of trading and the largest auction programme in its history, and its final lot, a US-bred Gyr Pure Ultra White sold for AED 2.1 million (USD 571,000), replaced the SAR 1.75 million Riyadh sale of 2021 as the highest auction price ever paid for a falcon. The numbers matter beyond falconry: they confirm Abu Dhabi as the trading floor for a market that reaches from breeding farms in the United States to buyers across the Gulf, and they arrive at the start of a season in which ADNEC alone hosts more than 290 events. For a supplier to that market the requirements are known in advance: CITES permits and the falcon passport for birds, an ATA Carnet for exhibition goods, and a UAE licence, bank account and visas for the business that follows the show.

FAQ

How much did the record falcon sell for at ADIHEX 2026?

A Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon bred in the United States sold for AED 2.1 million (USD 571,000) at the eighth and final live falcon auction of ADIHEX 2026 on Sunday 6 September 2026 at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. The organisers, ADNEC Group and the Emirates Falconers’ Club, describe it as the highest price ever paid for a falcon at auction. The buyer was not named.

What was the previous world record for a falcon at auction?

The previous record was SAR 1.75 million, about USD 467,000 or AED 1.71 million, paid for a gyrfalcon at the International Falcon Breeders Auction in Riyadh in 2021. The Abu Dhabi sale of 6 September 2026 exceeded it by about 22% in dollar terms. Earlier in ADIHEX 2026 two birds from the Mark Moglich Falcon Farm in the United States sold for AED 1.5 million on 29 August and AED 1.1 million on 30 August.

How many companies took part in ADIHEX 2026?

According to the exhibition’s spokesperson Abdulaziz Mohammed, a record 2,400 companies and brands from 71 countries took part, alongside 55 local and international falcon-breeding farms, over 10 days from 28 August to 6 September 2026. The 2025 edition had 2,068 companies and brands from 68 countries, 46 falcon farms and 379,572 visitors over nine days; the 2026 visitor total had not been published at the time of writing.

What documents does a foreign company need to sell falcons or exhibit at ADIHEX?

Gyrfalcons and other CITES Appendix I species need CITES export documents from the country of origin and a UAE import permit for every cross-border movement; the permits and the three-year falcon passport are issued by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. Stand equipment and samples can enter on an ATA Carnet, which the UAE has accepted since 2011 and which is issued locally by Dubai Chambers, usually for up to six months. Goods sold at the show are imported with duty paid, and regular sales in the UAE require a licensed local company or distributor.