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UAE Freezones Biz News Updates
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Dubai Chamber seminar highlights investments in key industry sectors
 Dubai Chamber members' exports and re-exports in November this year valued at
Dhs20.4bn, which is an 8.3% increase from the same month last year.
In order to assist private sector growth, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and
Industry hosted a seminar on investment opportunities in water, food
processing, and coffee, tea and sugar industries at its head office.
With the aim to establish a platform for interaction amongst Dubai's
business community, the seminar was attended by CEOs, water and energy
experts as well as entrepreneurs and business leaders.
In his welcome speech, Dr. Belaid Rettab, Senior Director, Economic Research
and Sustainable Business Development Sector, Dubai Chamber, gave an overview
of the emirate's current economic climate, saying that Dubai has shown
robust performance and sustained excellence in trade, tourism, logistics and
financial services.
"Dubai Chamber members' exports and re-exports in November this year valued
at Dhs20.4bn, which is an 8.3% increase from the same month last year. This
shows that the trade sector is continuing to perform strongly despite
continued global pressures and that we are likely to exceed last year's
trade figures," Dr. Rettab said.
Based on extensive market research carried out by Dubai Chamber, the seminar
highlighted a multitude of opportunities that are open to investors, which
will also help to drive Dubai's economic growth.
The first presentation on investment opportunities in the water sector
examined the need for Dubai to move away from its dependence on expensive
and energy-intensive desalinated water.
Over 20% of all fossil fuels consumed in the UAE are used for producing
desalinated water alone, while processing groundwater, treating wastewater,
and transporting water long distances requires large energy-consumption.
The implementation of new water technologies could help Dubai reduce its
desalination bill and could help production become more cost-efficient,
according to the presentation.
It identified 10 specific areas of investment, including a bulk water
reception terminal and bottling plant, a tailored water solution for
enhanced oil recovery, the use of closed circuit desalination technology,
nano-filtration and nanoH2O membranes.
The second presentation focused on business opportunities in the food
processing industry, which is expanding rapidly due to foreign direct
investment and government efforts to enhance domestic food production. This
is leading to a substantial rise in production and manufacturing facilities.
Local industries, such as flour and feed milling, fresh juice production,
soybean crushing, dairy processing, soft drinks manufacturing, meat
processing, vegetable preparation and canning and snack food production are
presently able to compete with counterparts across the Middle East and Asia.
Another reason for expansion is that the country re-exports about 50% of its
imports of food products to other Gulf countries and across the Middle East,
Africa, Asia and the CIS. Some international companies and brands are
utilising their facilities in the UAE due to the country's strategic
location to increase domestically produced products, which is enhancing
demand for ingredients and raw materials.
The final presentation, on coffee, tea and sugar industries, stated that
sugar confectionery in the UAE has increased significantly, from 6,438
tonnes in 2002 to 34,058 tonnes in 2011. Meanwhile the sales of tea have
increased from about 12,825 tonnes to about 40,749 tonnes.
One area of investment could be in overseas farmlands or through the
creation of joint ventures with existing coffee, tea and sugar cane farmers,
in order to increase productivity and help in secure cheap sources of
supply.
Opportunities also exist in branding coffee, tea and sugar confectionery,
which could help UAE businesses move up the value chain and give them the
ability to raise profits by getting better prices for their branded
products, according to the presentation.
It also said that UAE businesses need to establish closer links with
economies in the MENA region, Africa and Asia, where growing population and
increasing disposable incomes are leading to higher demand for tea, coffee
and sugar. This, the presentation concluded, is the right time for UAE
businesses to establish a foothold in these markets to profit from their
future growth.
13 Dec 2012
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Courtesy AME Info FZ LLC
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