Stand-in skipper Jitesh believes the absence of key England players will not affect his side's morale on Sunday
sports5 hours ago
Dubai’s position as a global logistics hub make it the perfect destination for companies that are interested in strengthening the UAE-Africa food trade sector, experts highlighted at a webinar on Wednesday.
Speaking at the ‘Tap into Dubai’s F&B sector’ webinar, organised by the Dubai Chamber, in association with The Corporate Group and ZimTrade, Omar Khan, director of International Offices at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the potential of growing trade between the UAE and the African continent.
“We are all recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, physically, mentally, and also economically. However, our attitude here in the UAE and Dubai is always on how we have to move forward. This is a new world and we can’t sit and wait for things to happen to us. We have to make things happen ourselves, and we always believed that everything should be done with partnerships,” he said.
Khan also revealed that between 2019 and 2020, Dubai saw an increase of six per cent to $7.9 billion in food trade, in terms of packaged food, while fresh food increased by four per cent. “Online sales also have reached 255 per cent, which is good news for people bringing products into the Dubai Market, because you are no longer restricted with the real estate in the physical stores. That means you have different vendors and a wider range of opportunities and less of a monopolized or an oligopoly in terms of a few big names.”
“Chainstores are also becoming more and more diverse, so new products have a wider range of homes when it comes to physical and e-commerce trade,” he added. “Everything from fresh meat to fresh produce is now going online. And, this is opening a lot of channels in cross border e-commerce.”
Khan also highlighted how Dubai is a “tremendous” global logistics hub. “What you bring into Dubai, you can take out to the world. We are working with India, Brazil, USA, Canada, Australia, and a lot of African countries right now, and we want to also bring our Zimbabwe partners and companies closer to us. The UAE is a net importer of food products so it is very important for anybody who is exporting. This is why it is important to understand the market, to see the price points, understand who the competition is, and identify enablers.”
In his presentation to the attendees, Allan Majuru, CEO of ZimTrade, noted that food exports from Zimbabwe are focused on health and wellbeing. “As a country, we are a non-GMO country and that has given us a niche,” he said. “We also have the capacity to go organic in terms of producing for exports.”
Besides the niche climate which gives special supply windows, Zimbabwe also boasts five ecological regions that allow Zimbabwe to produce diverse products. Exports to the UAE in 2019, Majuru said, stood at around $4.5 million. He expects this number to increase as more countries, like the UAE, look to Zimbabwe’s food exports sector.
“We pride ourselves in our climate giving us a competitive advantage in terms of the quality of fresh produce that we export,” he said. “I can guarantee you right now, if you go to Europe and see our products on the shelves and you try some of them, you will know that they are from Zimbabwe because of how organic and natural they are.”
rohma@khaleejtimes.com
Stand-in skipper Jitesh believes the absence of key England players will not affect his side's morale on Sunday
sports5 hours ago
Netanyahu came under personal attack from Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for failing to rule out an Israeli government in Gaza after the war
world5 hours ago
The fund is designed to finance the production of artistic and creative works in film, music, performances, and video games
uae5 hours ago
Fico has been in hospital since Wednesday when a lone gunman shot him four times, including in the abdomen
world6 hours ago
The country was one of the donor states to freeze around $450 million in funds after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in the Hamas-led attack
world6 hours ago
This inclusive community service is available daily on Al Hamriya Beach from 6.00am to sunset
uae7 hours ago
The floods on Friday also destroyed about 2,000 houses, and damaged thousands more homes and businesses
world7 hours ago
They waited nearly two decades before the club was able to break the trophy drought
football7 hours ago