The UAE has been able to accelerate growth in the food and beverage (F&B) trade sector, thanks to its strategic location, which gives it a global gateway to the F&B trade industry. This has been supported by the National Food Security Strategy, which was announced in November 2018.
According to statistics provided by the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics (FCSC), the total volume of the UAE’s foreign trade in F&B has increased by 16 percent in the last five years, reaching 430.14 billion dirhams and 111.74 million tons.
During the past five years, the UAE’s F&B trade was split between imports worth 287.39 billion dirhams consisting of 83.43 million tons, and exports worth 76.13 billion dirhams, weighing 17.97 million tons, and re-exports worth 66.62 billion dirhams, weighting 10.33 million tons.
The findings reveal that the UAE’s F&B trade increased by 10 percent in 2021, reaching 93.75 billion dirhams, up from 85.29 billion dirhams in 2020.
The UAE’s F&B trade volume was around 23.30 million tons last year, split between imports worth 59.59 billion dirhams, weighting 16.77 million tons, exports worth 18.85 billion dirhams, weighting 4.16 million tons, and re-exports worth 15.30 million dirhams, weighting 2.36 million dirhams.
Total exports climbed by 10.5 percent to 34.15 billion dirhams in 2021, up from 30.89 billion dirhams in 2020.
In addition, total imports in 2021 increased by 9.5 percent to 59.59 billion dirhams in 2021, up from 54.39 billion dirhams in 2020.
Successful efforts
The data reflects the UAE’s successful efforts and initiatives to encourage investment in the F&B trade industry and to empower food-related sectors locally and internationally. It also highlights the government’s strong interest in maintaining food security and supporting agricultural projects aimed at ensuring food supply chain sustainability.
