Dubai food trade up 11% to $15.5bn in 2021

The emirate traded 14.1 million tonnes of food products last year, Dubai Customs said

The UAE has taken concrete steps towards food self-sufficiency. Reuters

Dubai’s food trade jumped 11 per cent on an annual basis in 2021, supported by a double-digit growth in exports to other countries, Dubai Media Office said on Thursday.

Total food trade values reached Dh57 billion ($15.5bn) between January and December, Dh5.6bn more than in 2020, as per the figures revealed by Dubai Customs.

Exports from the emirate surged 11.3 per cent to Dh10.8bn, while re-exports grew 10 per cent to Dh7.9bn. Total imports stood at Dh38.2bn last year, about 11 per cent up from the prior year.

Meanwhile, the total volume of food traded reached 14.1 million tonnes, including 9.9 million tonnes of imports, three million tonnes of exports and 1.1 million tonnes of re-exports.

“Food trade is one of the major sectors benefiting from smart customs services and procedures provided by the government department, due to its nature and the need to ensure rapid clearance while ensuring the highest safety,” said Mahboob Musabih, director general of Dubai Customs and chief executive of ports, customs and free zone corporation.

The UAE is focusing on boosting agricultural production as it seeks to enhance self-sufficiency in food and reduce it reliance on food imports. The country's national food security strategy 2051 aims to achieve zero hunger by ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

“Our government has underlined the importance of food security as a key element of comprehensive development … it has formulated policies aimed at facilitating sustainable food production by utilising the latest in technology and innovative approaches,” Hassan Al Hashemi, vice president of international relations at Dubai Chambers, told a recent food security forum at Dubai Expo 2020.

Dubai Customs expects a rise in food trade during the month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin on Saturday.

“At this time every year, there is a marked growth in foodstuff trade compared to other months,” said Mr Musabih.

“During this period, Dubai Customs works at full capacity to facilitate increased trade and ensure smooth access to foodstuffs in the local market. There is particularly increased demand this month due to the reopening of Ramadan tents, which were closed in 2020 due to the pandemic.”

He also stressed that the entity is constantly developing its procedures and services to meet the evolving needs of the trading community.

“Our advanced systems completed 21.3 million customs declarations in 2021 growing 54.3 per cent from 13.8 million declarations in 2020, which means we processed an average of 58,300 declarations every day last year,” he said.