Sharjah: Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, director of the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, HFZA, and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, SAIF Zone, has said that the shift of consumer preference for organic products in the Middle East, and the UAE’s position as the second largest market for organic food in the region, has made the sector integral to the UAE free zones. Saud Al Mazrouei made the comments during his participation in a two-day Natural and Organic Products Europe exhibition in London recently. Quoting a report by Frost and Sullivan, Al Mazrouei said that organic farming in the GCC is set to reach $1.5 billion by 2018, driven by evolving consumer tastes and a change in health habits.