Dubai: Masafi distributed 280 million bottles of water in the UAE from September 2010 to August 2011, with demand for its bottled water rising 9.1 per cent in the first half of this year, a company spokesperson told Gulf News.
Demand for all bottled water in the UAE rose 11 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2010, according to Natascha Edelmann, Head of Marketing at Masafi.
"The UAE is the largest consumer of potable water in the world, with per capita consumption reaching 285 litres per year," she said.
"During the past five years we have doubled our production of bottled water."
Growth in demand for bottled water is expected to continue.
Business Monitor International (BMI), a market analysis company, predicts that if the country's insatiable thirst for bottled water continues, the value of the industry will climb to about Dh1.5 billion by 2013. By 2030, we will be using nine billion cubic metres of water per year, according to the Ministry of Environment.
The UAE makes up 77 per cent of Masafi's sales in the GCC, Edelmann said.
Masafi distributed 363 million bottles of water in the GCC from September 2010 to August 2011, recording just one per cent growth in the previous year. In 2010, it sold 370 million bottles in the GCC, a 5.7 per cent growth from 2009.
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"We currently enjoy 40 per cent of the local market share for bottled mineral water. The UAE is our biggest market followed by Oman," said Edelmann.
Masafi's market share declined slightly from 42 per cent last year, the company said.
With demand for bottled water continuing to rise in the UAE, the Ministry of Environment recently highlighted the need to conserve water because of its scarcity and the lack of rainfall to replenish natural sources.
Fifty one per cent of the UAE's water supply comes from groundwater, 37 per cent is desalinated by around 70 desalination plants in the country and 12 per cent is treated sewage water she said.
The annual production cost of desalinating water is Dh11.8 billion, putting the cost of one cubic metre, or 1,000 litres of water at Dh7.16.
"Management of water resources has to be put in place to preserve this natural resource to achieve sustainable development," she said.
Masafi, the Ras Al Khaimah-based company, has expanded its product range beyond bottled water to include juices, chips, Basmati rice and tissues.
