Food & beverage industry grows rapidly in UAE
New factories being launched every year.
01/03/05 The Middle East, particularly the UAE, has made great progress in the food and beverage industry with new factories being launched every year, mainly due to its high level of disposable income and huge volume of food and food-related imports and increasing population, according to a study.
The consumption of food and beverage has increased by 10 per cent last year and Dubai exported foodstuff worth Dh665.4 million and imported Dh2.4 billion worth of foodstuff, according to the latest figures available from Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The reason for huge exports is the huge demand for regionally produced food because of its cultural specificity, combined with price and transport advantages. Another reason for Dubai's large number of food imports is the cosmopolitan nature of the city, where expats want to eat food from their home countries, according to sources.
According to statistics, Dubai exported preparations of cereals, flour, milk worth Dh109.3 million during recent years and sugar and confectionery products worth Dh380.4 million as the bakery industry is witnessing huge growth with companies even considering doubling their production capacities to cater to the demands of the region's growing tourism and hospitality indistry.
According to sources, Masterbaker Marketing FZCO, based in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) with an annual turnover of Dh220 million is planning to increase its production due to an increased demand from hotels, coffee shops, aircraft catering companies, instore bakeries and re-exporters.
Apart from food and food related products, the beverage sector has been expanding steadily in Dubai.
This month, Aujan industries, soft drink and confectionery manufacturer and distributors announced that it will start its Dh150 million soft drink plant at the Dubai Investment Park to boost its manufacturing capacity by more than 50 per cent.
Masafi is experiencing huge sales in the UAE with a growth of 6 per cent last year compared to the previous year and sales of mineral water reaching 125 million litres in 2004, according to the marketing manager of the company.
