Ensuring food security in the UAE – News

Seamless network and cooperation between the two countries help ease the situation

Food insecurity is a global threat and its severity can vary from country to country. This is a complex phenomenon that can be attributed to a range of factors that vary by region, country and social group.

However, even before the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, food security had become a key challenge for people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which was exacerbated by the disruption of global supply chains.

But since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, food security has become a prominent global policy issue, and Gulf Arab countries, including the UAE, are no exception. The historical reliance on imports and lack of self-sufficiency has raised food security red flags for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and this anxiety is reflected in many think tanks and policy reports.

Like any other GCC country, food security in the UAE has historically been threatened by a number of restrictive topographical factors. Due to the dry climate and scarce arable land, the UAE relies heavily on imports for basic commodities and other food items. Local agriculture contributes barely 0.9% to the country’s GDP because there is little total land available for agriculture, and the total agricultural area has been reduced by 3% annually over the past 14 years due to desertification and soil degradation.

With so little arable land available and a climate with little rainfall, the UAE faces enormous natural challenges that hinder its goals of self-reliance and becoming a food security champion in the Middle East.

This terrain means that 90% of the food in the UAE is imported, and coupled with high socioeconomic status, population growth and shifting consumption habits, there is a growing demand for a variety of food types.inside

Likewise, the UAE is one of the highest-ranked Gulf countries, with a per capita food waste of 38%, which costs around AED6 billion a year.

It is a fact that the UAE spends billions of dollars to import staples such as wheat, rice, cooking oil, beans, sugar, grains and more from various countries around the world, including Pakistan, Iran, Australia, Ukraine, Malaysia, etc. , Canada, Germany, Russia, China, India, Vietnam, Brazil, the United States, etc. Like most countries in the MENA region, the UAE relies heavily on food imports – the value of UAE food trade (imports, exports and re-exports) in 2019 reached $24.7 billion. But these imports and exports are vulnerable to severe disruptions like Covid-19.

Although the UAE is considered food safe due to its ability to import food from international markets, it is now prioritizing innovation-driven food safety projects and investments in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The country is making timely and painstaking efforts and substantial investments to take advantage of opportunities that may arise and address challenges in achieving food sustainability and security goals.

Since the launch of the National Food Security Strategy in 2017, the UAE has risen from 33rd to 21st in just two years. The strategy adopted focuses on promoting global food trade, diversifying sources of food imports through partnerships, and enhancing local sustainable food production.

As one of the largest financial and political powers in the region, the UAE is taking proactive steps to encourage local food production capacity, including deploying renewable and advanced agricultural technologies, empowering local farmers, promoting local production through alternative farming techniques, and supply chains Digitizing. The UAE has been investing heavily in agtech and has provided a wide range of opportunities for agricultural companies and organisations to expand their business and activities in the UAE and across the Middle East.

The UAE relies heavily on its strengths, namely economic and political stability, currency stability and a high GDP, even though it is the third largest re-exporter in the world. Strong diplomatic and trade relationships underpin its food security strategy, and access to capital, low tariffs and trade barriers effectively facilitate this process.

Pakistan’s role

The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the MENA region and a major source of investment and remittances. In 2019, trade between the two countries reached US$8.19 billion (AED30 billion). The UAE is also one of the largest foreign investors in Pakistan.

The two countries have enjoyed decades of fine brotherhood, a common heritage and multi-faceted cooperation. The economic and trade relations between Pakistan and the UAE are an important part of this bilateral relationship and have been growing steadily.

Recently, the UAE announced a $1 billion investment in Pakistan’s economic and investment sectors. The move aims to explore new investment opportunities, expand bilateral economic relations, and strengthen mutual cooperation in projects in various economic fields. Investments are likely to flow into key sectors including natural gas, energy infrastructure, renewable energy, healthcare, biotechnology, agritech, logistics, digital communications, e-commerce and financial services.

This is one of the aspects of the enduring bond between the two brotherly nations. In terms of food security in the UAE, Pakistan is ideally positioned to meet its staple food needs. With tested supply chains and regulatory mechanisms, road, sea and air routes are the easiest and fastest source to ensure a continuous supply of food and other items from Pakistan to the UAE with the lowest freight rates.

With the opening of Gwadar Port under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan will be poised to connect the Middle East, Afghanistan and Central Asia for fast and economical movement of goods in the region.

The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan once said: “Give me agriculture and I will give you civilization.” Despite the scarcity of arable land, fresh water and harsh environmental conditions, the UAE’s founding father believes The power of agriculture in stimulating economic prosperity and transforming vast desert wilderness into lush green havens.

Intergovernmental cooperation, supported by frequent interactions between private sector representatives from both countries, is encouraging. Pakistan offers the UAE an ideal opportunity to leverage decades of brotherhood to invest in the agricultural economy, livestock, poultry, milk and fruit processing, research and development, establishment of food storage and land banks.

There are countless other opportunities for investors from the UAE government and various sectors of the economy, including engineering, surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals, value-added textiles, leather goods, meat and agricultural machinery.

In addition to creating a regional food basket network that can reduce reliance on distant African, Latin American markets and ease logistical challenges, this seamless network and collaboration with Pakistan will help alleviate food security and socio-political concerns in the UAE .

The UAE’s population is estimated to grow to 11.5 million by 2025, while its food consumption is growing at an annual rate of 12%. With an eye on climate change and global food needs, the UAE needs to ensure that different plans are in place to ensure food security today and into the future.

The leaders of the two countries have come together and the time is ripe for a partnership to develop and implement programs and policies aimed at achieving win-win situations through large-scale investment in agricultural and technological innovation to promote sustainable food production.