Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the flagship free zone operation of Dubai and a key trade and logistics hub for the wider Middle East region, posted a 13 per cent increase in the number of food and beverage (F&B) companies in the free zone in 2014.

The free zone expects more than 15 per cent growth in the number of new companies in the sector in the current fiscal year, said a Wam news agency report.

The F&B sector in Jafza generated trade worth Dh17.56 billion ($4.78 billion) in 2013 up almost 15 per cent from 2012. The total trade generated by the sector is estimated to have crossed Dh20 billion ($5.44 billion) in 2014.

The free zone’s growth projection is based on the rapidly growing interest of multinationals in the food and beverage (F&B) sector in the wider Middle East region. More than 1,700 F&B companies from Europe, Latin America and Asia visited the Jafza stand at the just-concluded in Gulfood exhibition and have shown keen interest in the free zone's facilities to reach and serve the rapidly expanding markets in West Asia, Africa, the CIS and the Indian Subcontinent.

Seven new F&B companies applied for setting up their regional base at the free zone during the five-day exhibition.

Ibrahim Mohamed Aljanahi, deputy CEO of Jafza and chief commercial officer of Economic Zones World, the parent company of the free zone, said: "The overwhelming interest of leading companies from the food and beverage industry in Jafza facilities has reinforced the free zone’s status as the business and re-distribution hub for the GCC, Iraq, Iran, Levant, Africa, the CIS and Indian Subcontinent, a thriving market of more than 2 billion people. Rising per capita income, growing demand for healthy food and the governments’ focus on developing local food processing capability in the region have opened new avenues and long-term growth opportunities for global companies in the F&B sector. I invite all the investors in the region to use Jafza’s time-tested facilities to serve the region in the most efficient manner."

Jafza is currently home to over 460 top multinationals in the F&B sector such as Unilever, Heinz, Kraft, P&G, PepsiCo, and Gulf Food Industries. -TradeArabia News Service