Dubai: The UAE’s niche organic market continues to grow slowly after the recent certification of imported organic foods and UAE organic farms by the Emirates Authority and Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA).

The scheme mandates that all certified organic products must have a certification logo so that customers can be certain that it is really organic. Currently, 17 farms in the UAE have been certified, and six are being certified, according to Eng Nadim Al Fuqaha, managing director of Global Links, and one of the organisers of MENOPE 2012, the region’s only event for natural and organic products, which ended on Thursday.

Some of the organic foods and their ingredients that the scheme covers include frozen fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, honey and dairy products.

Al Fuqha expected that demand for organic products will continue to grow steadily after the certification scheme as consumers will have more trust in the products.

Today, steady growth in the market is slowly becoming more evident in the increase in product offerings by manufacturers, retailers and distributors. At MENOPE, offerings ranged from organic vegetables to cosmetics and to pharmaceuticals.

The organic market in the UAE is valued annually at $100 million-$150 million (Dh367.2 million to Dh 550.80 million), Gulf News reported last week.

The GCC invested $300 million last year for trade of organic products, according to Al Fuqha.


Free of pesticides


Unlike its natural and conventional cousins, organic foods are free of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. While natural foods contain natural ingredients, they may not be sourced from chemical-free farms. Conventional foods are genetically modified and they are grown in farms containing chemicals.

“We sell fresh produce, and they range from beef and poultry to fruits and vegetables. We also sell baby food, which is among our best-sellers,” Kate Kiesanowski, marketing manager of Dubai-based Organic Foods and Cafe said.

Kiesanowski credited the increase in organic food purchases to the consumers’ expanding knowledge of healthy eating habits.


Support for local produce


Another factor for the popularity of organic food is the steady support for local produce. More people are becoming aware of what is grown locally, according to Pamela Gent, branding manager of Ripe, a Dubai-based organic food company.

“We get our vegetables from farms in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. But sometimes, as with fruits that don’t grow well here, we import our products from Europe, and even regional countries like Lebanon and Iraq,” she said.

A small number of UAE farms grow organic produce. But the Ministry of Environment and Water aims to change that by allocating 3,000 hectares of agricultural land to organic farming, Gulf News reported earlier this year.

Organic products are expensive compared to conventional alternatives, but that should not be an issue for consumers because prices tend to drop when the demand becomes high, Al Fuqha explained.

Other exhibitions related to organic products are sprouting in the UAE. At Global Village in Dubai, the Palestine and Yemen pavilions are offering organic olives and olive oil, and honey, all sourced from their homelands.