Dubai imported 7.9 million tonnes of food in 2021

In 2021, Dubai imported 7.9 million tonnes of food, which included 286,673 food shipments and over 1.7 million food products, according to data shared by Dubai Municipality.

In the first quarter of 2021, Dubai imported over 1.9 million tonnes of food, while in the second quarter, it imported close to 2.3 million tonnes of food.

The emirate imported 1.81 million tonnes of food in the third quarter and 1.83 million tonnes in the fourth quarter.

The municipality said that is working closely with both federal and local entities to support local and national goals to strengthen food supply chains, according to WAM.

The UAE’s aims to enhance food security and attain the number one ranking in the Global Food Security Index by 2051.

“Over the years, the municipality has been a pioneer in adopting innovative initiatives and programmes to integrate rapid advances in food processing and preparation into its food safety control system,” said Dawoud Al Hajri, director-general of Dubai Municipality.

“Our smart systems such as the FoodWatch platform have food traceability features that allow us to verify ingredients and nutritional information for each product. The platform also facilitates the exchange of information between regulatory authorities, food establishments, service providers to these establishments and consumers using smart digital monitoring and data analysis.”

Dubai registered 1,343 new food establishments in 2021. The number of inspections increased by 12 per cent compared to 2020, with the Dubai Municipality’s Food Safety Department carrying out 76,195 inspections of food establishments in the emirate last year.

Read: Dubai adds 1,343 new food outlets in 2021

“The municipality works round the clock to monitor imported food in all outlets of the emirate. In addition to that, we are working to further diversify the foodstuffs imported to the local market to provide consumers with various types of food. We have simplified food import procedures to facilitate the smooth movement of food trade in the current period,” added Al Hajri.

The food and beverage trade in the UAE crossed $20bn in the first nine months of 2021, according to a new analysis from Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

Imports accounted for the largest share of the UAE’s F&B trade during January-September 2021 period, amounting to $12.8bn.

Read: Gulfood 2022: UAE’s F&B trade crosses $20bn from January-September 2021