Food consumption to jump 17%

The UAE’s food consumption is seen to jump by 17 per cent to $9 billion in 2013, compared to an estimate of $7.7 billion in 2012.

This was revealed by UAE Foreign Trade Minister Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi in her opening address at Gulfood’s Global Food Leaders’ Summit on Monday, in which she termed the Middle East as a gold mine for the global food and beverage industry.

“In the GCC alone, the value of food imports is expected to be more than double over the next decade to around $53.1 billion by 2020. Here in the UAE, the value of our food consumption last year is believed to have reached $7.7 billion and to touch almost $9 billion in 2013.”

Over the past five years, the value of the UAE’s total foreign trade in food products was $80.4 billion, a growth of 84 per cent, she said, adding: “Our food imports, which were around $32.9 billion during that period represented the biggest portion of our foreign trade in food product amounting to a 66 per cent share.” She urged the participants to explore the food trade opportunity in the country. The UAE is actually the world’s leading re-export and logistical hub for commodities such as sugar, coffee and tea, she added.

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