Dubai Chamber calls for investing in food industries, focusing on halal food and innovative agriculture products
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised a networking on the sidelines of the 25th Gulfood exhibition, to highlight investment opportunities in the emirate’s food and beverage (F&B) sector. The event brought together close to 350 participants from 60 countries, marking a 29% growth from last year’s turnout. Some 27 VIPs, including ministers, ambassadors and consul generals in the UAE, also attended the function, where attendees explored the competitive advantages and opportunities Dubai offers in the F&B industries.
The delegates to the special event held a roundtable discussion with UAE banks on factoring as well as toured the Al Aweer Fruit & Vegetable market. The delegates also held meetings with various vendors, such as Barakat, Kibsons, and Spinneys to get an overview of their business models and tour their facilities.
Set to attract 25 million visitors over a six-month period, Gulffood is among the key factors driving demand and growth in the UAE’s food and beverage sector. Onsite F&B sales alone are expected to top $545 million, according to EXPO 2020 and Alpen Capital, with up to 835,000 meals served to visitors each hour.
Atiq Juma Nasib, SVP of Commercial Services at Dubai Chamber called on global financiers to invest in Dubai, revealing the emirate’s tremendous investment opportunities in food processing, innovative agriculture and halal food, one of the fastest growing segments of the Islamic economy and forecasted to grow to $1.93 trillion by 2022.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ranks first in the world in F&B consumption forecasts for the 2018-2023 period, which reinforces Dubai’s attractiveness to investors, given its status as a gateway for FDI in the food industries. According to Euromonitor data, the sale of fresh food items in the UAE will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% in the 2018-2023 period. Moreover, sales of meat products are set to increase by 7% (CAGR) over the same period, while sales of grains and pulses expand by 5.5%, nuts by 5.4%, vegetables by 5%, fruits by 4%, eggs by 4%, and fish and seafood by 3.7%.
