The Dubai Chamber of Commerce analysis highlights the key role that ASEAN countries can play in promoting food security in the UAE – Dubai Blog

An analysis released by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce highlights the important role that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries can play in enhancing food security in the UAE

The analysis was released before the first Global Business Forum (GBF) ASEAN, which was organized by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and EXPO2020 Dubai from December 8th to 9th during the 2020 Dubai World Expo. With the theme of “New Frontiers”, the forum aims to explore the changing dynamics of ASEAN countries and explore opportunities for increasing bilateral trade, commerce and investment between regions.

The report titled “Food and Beverage Trade between Dubai and ASEAN” analyzes the areas where the 10 ASEAN member states can contribute to the UAE’s Food and Beverage (F&B) industry-the Chamber of Commerce stated that this is in view of the UAE’s imports It is very important that it consumes about 85% of the total food.

“A key pillar of the UAE’s 2051 National Food Security Strategy is to diversify the country’s international food sources-an imperative to be taken home during the coronavirus pandemic that has a major impact on the global supply chain. As a population For countries that are constantly growing and unable to grow their own food on a large scale, it is the country’s top priority to determine the markets that can provide us with agricultural products. ASEAN countries represent such an important market,” Hamad Bouah, President and CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce Said HE Hamad Buamim.

“This new analysis prepared by Dubai aims to show where the food trade gap lies. The report aims to benefit ASEAN traders as well as importers and exporters located in Dubai and the UAE. Like climate change, food security is the most urgent global issue in the world. Problem, identifying key areas to improve bilateral food trade is critical to ensuring that all people have adequate food supplies,” he added.

The analysis emphasizes that in the past ten years, Dubai has a deficit in food and beverage products trade with the ASEAN region, which means that ASEAN countries have great potential to increase food exports to the Emirates. It cited data from Dubai Customs that in 2020, Dubai’s imports of food and beverages (excluding tobacco) from ASEAN reached 2.99 billion dirhams. As ASEAN countries imposed COVID-19 export restrictions on food, Vietnam and the Philippines banned rice exports, and Thailand restricted egg exports, this figure was 8.4% lower than the 2019 level.

The analysis details that the UAE is the second largest recipient of ASEAN food exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council, and its share is about 34% in 2020. According to reports, in 2020, ASEAN’s share of Dubai’s imports of food and beverages from the world is 6.9%, but—with the increase in food exports—the ASEAN region has an opportunity to increase its share of Dubai’s food imports, which will promote National food safety.

Regarding individual partners in the ASEAN region, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce reported that in 2020, Dubai will have a food and beverage trade deficit with all ASEAN countries except Singapore (Dh70 million), Cambodia (Dh14.7 million) and Brunei ( 29.4 million dirhams).

Last year, Thailand accounted for the highest share of Dubai’s imports of food and beverages from ASEAN countries at 22%, Vietnam and Indonesia both at 20%, Malaysia at 18%, and the Philippines at 10%. In 2020, these five countries accounted for 90% of Dubai’s food and beverage imports from the ASEAN region.

In terms of products, the analysis report of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce stated that ASEAN countries accounted for more than 70% of the palm oil and cooked fish imported by Dubai from the world, and nearly one third of the coffee and tea extracts imported by the emirate also came from ASEAN region. Other noteworthy products exported by ASEAN countries to Dubai include avocados, mangos, bananas, pineapples, dried legumes and coconuts, and the report claims that ASEAN traders have more opportunities to increase food exports to Dubai.

The analysis also pointed out that there are huge opportunities for exporting rice to Dubai, which is one of the largest rice importers in the world. It pointed out that ASEAN traders can also regard Dubai as a transit hub and use the emirate’s advanced logistics and infrastructure to increase exports to the Middle East and African countries.

In addition to an overview of the potential of ASEAN countries to improve the UAE’s food safety through imports, the report also details Dubai’s food exports to the ASEAN region. The emirate’s largest partner in this regard is Thailand, which accounts for about one-third of Dubai’s catering exports to ASEAN countries. Other important countries include Malaysia (23%), Vietnam (19%) and Singapore (10%).

In 2020, Singapore is Dubai’s largest partner for the re-export of food and beverage products to ASEAN, accounting for 54% of the share, reflecting its status as a regional trading hub. Other large re-export partners in the region include Vietnam and Malaysia, both at 16%, and Thailand at 7%.

The document drew attention to the opportunities for Dubai traders to increase exports to the ASEAN region, citing a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) that the total population of ASEAN reached 667 million in 2020, creating important food export opportunities for the ASEAN region. Dubai businessman. It specifically suggested that Dubai traders should explore the Philippine food market. The country has a population of 109.6 million, which is the second most populous market in the region after Indonesia. Dubai food exports have not played an important role in this market.