Dubai Industrial City affirms its commitment to support food and beverages sector in UAE

The food and beverage cluster in Dubai Industrial City, is considered one the most active industrial areas among the six specialized industrial zones in the city, where 20 companies have leased industrial land to build their factories on a total area of more than 3.5 million square feet and with investments of more than Dhs400m.

According to statistics released recently by "Business Monitor International", the food market is currently witnessing a remarkable growth, where the value of food consumption in the UAE reached Dhs28.2bn last year, with expectations for this value to reach Dhs32.6bn this year.

Talking on the sidelines of 'Gulfood 2013' that is currently being held in Dubai, Abdullah Belhoul, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City, stressed the city's commitment towards this sector, saying: "Dubai Industrial City is committed to support the food and beverages industry, and provide all the necessary requirements for this sector to help continue to grow and develop. The sector has a great importance in achieving food security in the country and boosting diversity of the UAE economy."

Food and beverage companies in Dubai Industrial City are investing in the manufacturing of various food and beverage products. DI is considered a true example of the development that is currently being witnessed at the food market in the UAE, as it has seen a growth rate of 10% in 2012. Dubai Industrial City is also experiencing a surge in demand for industrial land, where investors have a great appetite to build their factories, due to the high annual growth rate of per capita food consumption in the region, as well as the growth of food exports to the Gulf region and North African countries. Food and beverages factories in DI include, Perfect Foods, Barakat Quality Plus and DoFreeze, Palm Springs for bottled water and Emirates Syrian Dates.

Belhoul added: "The increasing demand from food and beverages companies to invest in Dubai Industrial City, emphasizes the important role the City plays in this sector, where we provide our business partners the ideal environment to operate, starting from advanced infrastructure, and specialized industrial zones that follow the highest safety and security standards for food processing, to its ideal location being next to the main transportation highways, as well as the air and sea ports in the country."

According to recent expectations by Dubai Chamber of Commerce, the annual growth rate of per capita food consumption in the country this year is expected to reach 12% compared to 2012, which indicates a promising future for this sector, and also requires cooperation between all concerned entities to benefit from the growth opportunities.

Dubai Industrial City is considered one of the largest industrial zones in Dubai and is spread across 55 square kilometers (560 million square feet) of land. The industrial destination was established to serve as a catalyst for the growth and expansion of the industrial sector in the United Arab Emirates - especially in light to medium manufacturing sectors with specific emphasis on machinery and mechanical equipment, transport equipment and parts, base metal, chemicals, food and beverage and mineral products.