Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ), DP World’s flagship free zone and the largest source of foreign investment into the UAE, is set to unveil new services and solutions developed specifically for the food and beverage (F&B) industry at the Gulfood trade show, which opened today in Dubai, UAE.

Gulfood, one of the world’s largest annual food and beverage trade exhibitions, will run until February 21, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The leading GCC free zone said that it will support F&B businesses in a rapidly changing industry landscape with solutions tailored aimed at reducing cost, while improving ease of doing business.

Jafza’s food and beverage sector includes 469 businesses from 66 countries registered with the free zone and employing more than 5,952 people that reach out to a market of over 3.5 billion consumers across the Middle East, North and East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and the CIS states.

The growing presence of these F&B companies underscores Dubai’s vital role in supporting the sector and the city’s growing presence as a major centre for the halal food market.

Mohammed Al Muallem, chief executive officer and managing director, DP World, UAE Region said: “Jebel Ali Free Zone has been the inspiration for Dubai’s food industry for over 30 years. The F&B market is expected to reach a total value of $11.4 billion by 2020.”

“Jafza has served as the most efficient and connected regional base for global brands consistently over the years with F&B companies from across the world and is a favoured destination among food and agri-industry investors,” he said.

“We are well positioned to support the F&B sector’s projected growth through our customer-centric solutions and services that have made us a vital player in spurring economic diversification in the UAE,” he added.

Jafza provides a world-class business environment for F&B companies, especially to develop new products and commodities to suit different tastes across the globe. Jafza generated trade valued at Dh10.9 billion ($2.96 billion), or over 16 per cent of Dubai’s total trade value for the F&B segment.

Top brands operating in Jafza include Unilever, Nestle, Heinz, Al Khaleej Sugar, Mars, and Hunter Foods, among other industry leading players.

The key trade partners for Dubai in the F&B segment include Brazil, India, US, Pakistan, Australia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka. The top traded commodities include sugar, fruits, vegetables and nuts; foodstuff; grains and by-products; beverages and frozen meat.

Nearly 100,000 visitors from more than 190 countries are expected to attend the show, which will see exhibitors displaying their products on over 100,000 square feet of space.

In 2017, Jafza contributed to 23.8 per cent of Dubai’s GDP, while attracting 23.9 per cent of total foreign direct investment and accounting for 70 per cent of the emirate’s total free zone trade value during the same period, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service