Food and Beverage sector in Jafza grows by more than 22%

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 25 February, 2017:  Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza); a DP World Company and the UAE’s flagship trade and logistics hub for the Middle East region and Africa, has posted a 22.5% growth in foreign companies from the Food and Beverage Sector (F&B) — rising from 480 companies in 2015 to 588 last year.

Jafza will be participating at the Gulfood Exhibition from 26 February to 2 March at Dubai World Trade Centre, meeting some of the leading companies from the F&B sector who are planning to locate in the region.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO  of DP World and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation underlined the increasing role of the food and beverage industry in the UAE in driving economic growth and in addressing the food requirements of regional markets.

Mr. Bin Sulayem, said: “The vision of our wise leadership to make Dubai as the Global Islamic Economic Capital provides a major boost to our economy by attracting foreign investment, especially those that are Halal food related. The Dubai Industrial Strategy complements the competiveness of the food industry where local companies can partner global counterparts to increase the Emirate’s exports. We are also focused on research and development in the industry to develop new products and commodities that will suit different tastes and attract consumers.”

Mr. Bin Sulayem, added: “Of the F&B companies based in Jafza, 57% are from the Middle East region with 18% from Asia-Pacific, 13% from Europe, 8% from the Americas and 4% from Africa. The importance of Jafza as a preferred destination is apparent from the high occupancy rate in  facilities, ranging from plots of land and warehouses top  showrooms and offices dedicated to the F&B industry, spread over 1.67 million square metres.”

Mr. Bin Sulayem, said: “Gulfood is an annual event that brings together local and international leaders of the F&B industry under one roof and is a vital platform to meet and discuss cooperation and the investment plans of companies in the UAE, Middle East and Africa. Jafza is keen to meet manufacturers, wholesalers, packaging and logistics companies that are looking to reach out to new and emerging markets and benefit from our modern infrastructure and the highly efficient logistics network that will help enable the support and supply process.”

A recent Business Monitor International (BMI) research report expects food sales in the Middle East and North Africa to increase by 6.3% on an annual basis between 2015 and 2020. The food and beverage industry will see a 7.1% growth on an annual basis until 2020.due to several factors such as the strong investment in the retail sector in the next few years and the rise in the number of tourists and expatriate population - up to 10.4 million people by 2025.

Jafza is home to a number of the world’s leading food companies including Unilever, Alokozay, Mars, FSL, Gulf Seafood, Hunter Foods, Banvit and other brands  that serve more than two billion people in the Middle East and South and East Asia, Africa and Commonwealth of Independent States.