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Over $200 Million Dubai Food City in the Offing

DUBAI - Department of Food &Beverage of Dubai Chamber of Commerce(DCCI) is planning to set up $200 million ‘ Dubai Food City’ by 2011, sprawling on 5 million square feet, said Farook Kassam Managing Director of the Department.

“The Food City will offer storage to all kind of food stuff and is aimed to help stabilise the prices in the market. There will be no shortage of supply once its established,” Kassam said.

The value of the UAE Food & beverage industry in 2008 hovered around $8 billion against $6 billion in 2007.

The growth forecast for the current year is expected to be in range of 10 -15 per cent, he added. The re-export value out of the $8 billion is around 33 to 35 per cent, Iran is the main destination of UAE re-export with 50 per cent of total exports,” he added.

He was speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry networking luncheon at the Monarch Hotel in honour of its members from the Dubai Food and Beverage, Vegetable and Foodstuff trading business groups and regional and global delegates from 76 countries attending the 14th edition of the Gulfood 2009 exhibition.

Eng. Hamad Buamim, Director-General, Dubai Chamber, informed that a large percentage of the Chamber’s members belonged to the food and beverage-manufacturing sector, which is playing a strategic role in the country’s economic map. “Despite competition from the regional and local competitors, the Food and Beverage sector has been doing extremely well. Commendably, in the wake of the dwindling food reserves, poor harvest, rising global food prices and the general global financial crisis, this particular sector in the Middle East has been standing firm in the face of adversities,” he said.

Buamim pointed out that the GCC is the biggest importer of food products in the region as 90 per cent of food items here are imported and despite the global challenges facing the international markets, the Middle East remains one of the fastest growing trading centers in the world.

“Food suppliers worldwide are aware the region is witnessing a surge in population with increasingly discerning tastes, purchasing power and a robust hospitality sector.”

He said: “With imports in the GCC region reaching $12 billion annually, Gulfood provides a unique global platform for those in the foodservice and hospitality industries to meet with, and establish, business contacts with decision makers and influencers from across the Middle East and GCC region.”

Omar Hijazi, CEO of Tejari, said that the networking event can be used for promoting trading ties between Dubai-based businessmen and their regional counterparts.

He also called upon the members of the food and beverage business groups to make use of the Dubai Chamber-Tejari initiative of the dubaibizmatch.com, an exclusive online B2B platform designed to facilitate online trade between registered companies in Dubai Chamber and 45 different business sectors including food and beverages worldwide.

aneela@ khaleejtimes.com