iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Sheikh Mohammed will also remain the Vice-President of the country
KT APPDOWNLOAD
UAE may cap food prices of chicken, milk: Minister
Photo (for illustrative purposes): Alamy
Dubai - The country is increasingly focusing on local production of food and vegetables in an effort to become self-reliant.
The UAE is considering capping prices of some foods such as chicken and milk, said Mariam Al Mheiri, the UAE’s Minister of State for Food Security.
DON'T MISS:
>> Food revolution with Dubai vertical farms
>> Green drive booms the UAE’s commitment to ramp up food security
“We are studying very carefully and we may need some adjustments, Al Mheiri said in an interview with Bloomberg. She said the price cap could apply to both local and imported products.
The UAE largely relies on food imports from other countries due to its arid climate and nominal rainfall, making it vulnerable to food price fluctuations. However, the UAE is now increasingly focusing on local production of food and vegetables in an effort to become self-reliant.
In a 2019 F&B report, Alpen Capital said that the UAE’s food consumption will grow at an annualised rate of 3.5 per cent from an estimated 8.7 million metric tonnes in 2018 to 10.3 million metric tonnes in 2023. Among the categories that will see the highest consumption growth in the UAE between 2018 to 2023 are dairy, cereals, fruits, meat, vegetables and others.
The UAE is the second largest market in the GCC for food and beverages, given its population base of 9.5 million. The demand for food is bound to pick up substantially this year as millions of people will flock to Dubai for the six-month long Expo 2020 exhibition, set to begin from October 2021.
“We’re being flooded with a lot of requests to start growing food in the desert. We’re now growing blueberries in the UAE, we’re growing quinoa, we’re growing salmon,” Almheiri was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
The minister said the country is open to lab-grown, or cell-based meats.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com
More news from
Motorists urged to depart for their journey earlier or take alternative routes
The number is the highest since 2018, when the requirement for a male companion was done away with for women going on the pilgrimage
An explosion of illegal mining in this vast swath of the Amazon has created a humanitarian crisis for the Yanomami people
Not following rules and leaving vehicles in undesignated areas obstruct traffic flow
The Dubai Ruler hosted an Iftar banquet for the guests at Za’abeel Palace
Findings add to the woes of the Swiss investment bank
There are many ways to judge the success or failure of a country. We can look at its economy, the strength of its military or the quality of its education. We can examine the soundness of our bridges or the smoothness of our highways. But what if we used a different standard? We should judge a nation by a simple metric: the number of weeping parents it allows, the small caskets it tolerates