Food industry in the UAE

Statistics show that the production of food products and food industry in the UAE makes up about 47% of the national sector of non-resource industry. According to experts, this sector has a latent potential for manufacturers growth. Proceeding from the definition, the food industry of the United Arab Emirates includes the following sectors:

• production of meat and meat products;
• dairy and bakery products;
• production of refined sugar and vegetable oils;
• bottled water and dessert products.

Food industry in the UAE – volume of investments

The volume of investment assets into this industry makes up about 57% of the total volume of investments into the industry in general. The investment surge was due not only to the development of the production of bottled water and other food products. The rapid growth of the local population of the UAE and the increasing market demand for food products remain to be the main precondition. The population growth directly stimulates the development of food industry and ensures the ever-growing consumer demand for food products. Sociological nature of such changes within the country contributes to the expansion of the markets and the search for new ideas for business organization.

Analysts single out several key investment directions in this industry, taking into account the fact that the United Arab Emirates import the major part of food products not only for the domestic consumption, but also for re-export. In particular, development of the food industry is contributed by such factors as:

• increase in the volume of food production in order to cover the local consumer demand in the UAE;
• taking advantage of the strategic location and effective solutions in terms of international logistics for the development of regional production.

Food products in the UAE – development prospects

However, food in the UAE remains the main stumbling block of the national interests. This economic segment has an inexhaustible latent potential as the United Arab Emirates produce no more than 40% of the total volume of food consumed. Poultry and meat, agricultural products, groceries and milk products in the UAE are only several areas where there is a latent potential for the production development. Meanwhile, experts note the steady growth of the meat products market, which is due to the local traditions and a relatively high purchasing capacity of the local population.

Despite the fact that the import of livestock remains the main direction of business in the sphere of production of meat products, the meat products processing and packaging lines are actively developing in the UAE today. Specialized free trade zones, which provide effective solutions in the field of logistics, have made an important contribution to the development of this sector. The past decades are characterized by an attraction into the region of the largest international manufacturers, who intend to take advantage of the favourable strategic location in order to obtain access to the human resources and markets.

At present time, the world’s largest producers of food products use the United Arab Emirates as a production base to maintain operational presence in the food sector of the Persian Gulf. Besides, they ensure satisfaction of the local demand for manufactured products. A dynamically developing market and the growth of brands represented in the UAE show the existing competition among the manufacturers and accordingly contribute to the improvement of the quality indicators of the goods.