Dubai – The Middle East is a “gold mine” for the food industry. With these works, the minister of Trade of the United Arab Emirates, Lubna Al Qasimi, opened on Monday (25) a conference on the sector during the first day of the Gulfood, a fair in the sector that takes place in Dubai. In the Emirates, the second main economy in the Gulf, only behind Saudi Arabia, consumption of food reached US$ 7.7 billion last year, and may reach US$ 9 billion in 2013, according to her.
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to the minister, import around 90% of the food they consume. That is due to the small area of arable ground, lack of water and to the young and growing population. Qasimi pointed out that the bloc’s imports of foods should more than double by 2020, exceeding US$ 53 billion a year.
In this respect, she pointed out that the sector represents “more than business” to the region, it is something vital that places the matter of food safety high in the local concerns. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
“Over the years, I hope that apart from discussing business, we may discuss how to make the industry prosper and fulfil the aspirations of the Arab people,” said the minister. “I hope that you (businessmen) can include essential themes in this dialogue, including sustainability, safety and community,” she added.
Apart from its importance as a consumer market, Qasimi pointed out the part played by the Emirates as a trade hub in the area, prominent as the world’s main re-exporter of rice and also strong in the areas of coffee, tea and sugar.
This is so true that foreign trade of these products has a significantly greater throughput in the country than local trade. According to the minister, bilateral trade of food had a turnover of US$ 80.4 billion in the Emirates over the last five years, growth of 84% over the previous period. Imports answered to US$ 59.2 billion.
It is eyeing this “gold mine” that companies are participating in the Gulfood, one of the busiest business fairs in the region. It is hard to walk around the aisles of Dubai World Trade Centre without bumping into a Brazilian from time to time.
Brazil has been participating in the fair since 2007 and this year is present with over 50 exhibitors in several areas of the food and beverage industry. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce has a stand in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex).
First time
Apart from traditional exhibitors, the heated market attracts new suppliers, as is the case with Ecuador, which is participating in the fair with its own pavilion for the first time. In August last year, the country opened a trade office in Dubai and presence in the Gulfood is the first promoted by the organisation in a fair of the kind.
“It is strategic for Ecuador to enter new international markets,” said the head of the office, Hussam Hassan, a Palestinian born in Iraq who has lived in the South American nation and speaks Spanish fluently. “That is why we decided to participate in the Gulfood,” he added. In his evaluation, being in the Emirates simplifies access to other emerging nations, especially in the Middle East and Africa. Hassan knows much about the business community in the region, as he has already worked for Dubai Exports, the export promotion agency of the emirate.
Ecuadorian presence is starting small, with four companies, but with interesting imagery, including exhibitors in Panama hats, which, despite their name, are originally from Ecuador. The companies present are Nirsa, a producer of tuna, Earth Fructifera, of fruits and vegetables, Banalight, a producer of mashed banana and mango, and Pacari, of chocolate.
Hassan agrees with fair director Mark Napier, who gave an interview that was published on the ANBA site last Sunday, in which he said there has been an increase in interest for South American cuisine in the Middle East. “The best quality food, vegetables and fruit are South American,” he said. He also pointed out that simplification of trade of perishable goods among both regions, through the opening of direct flights, is also influencing this demand.
*Translated by Mark Ament
