Dubai: The Emirates Industry for Camel Milk & Products (EICMP), producer of the leading camel milk brand ‘Camelicious’, commenced sending its first products to various countries in the European Union.

After the company’s official listing on the website of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission (SANCO), becoming the first Middle Eastern company to export camel milk products to the European Union, the first smaller quantities of camel milk powder, fresh milk and camel whey powder have reached Europe this week.

Commenting on the first exports, Mutasher Al Badry, Deputy General Manager & Business Development Manager at EICMP said: “We are very proud to be the first UAE based company to ship camel milk powder to Europe on the new permit. We would like to thank all parties involved in this effort to see Dubai and our brand ‘Camelicious’ find its rank amongst global exporters.

“We are thrilled to see our products on the European market. This is a ground-breaking step for our company as well as for the camel milk industry in the UAE.”, he continued.

EICMP had been listed in the section for third country establishments of Section IX, raw milk and dairy products, under the UAE section entitling the company to officially export camel milk and camel milk products to all of the 27 member countries of the EU in June 2013.

The first camel milk products were sent to potential business partners of Camelicious to the Netherlands and Denmark. EICMP is focusing on the B2B market in Europe working to establish further business ties with European companies and exploring additional fields of usage for camel milk. Main target are companies in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic field as well as sport and nutritional supplements. The recently shipped samples of camel milk powder and whey powder are serving related trials run by potential partner companies as well as camel milk powder instantisation.

The launch of medical creams and applications for skin conditions such as acne developed in cooperation with a Jordanian bio-tech centre and a US based pharmaceutical company is expected to take place in the near future.

The first container export of ‘Camelicious’ camel milk powder will be shipped by the sister company Al Nassma Chocolate LLC to Austria for production of its first and finest camel milk chocolate.

Martin Van Almsick, General Manager of Al Nassma Chocolate LLC said: “Al Nassma has been shipping camel milk powder to Austria for the last five years, yet a special permit was always needed. The official listing of our sister company EICMP will facilitate our operation tremendously, also for our café-lounge concept ‘The Majlis’, the first and finest camel milk café.

“We are very optimistic that we will witness camel milk become a product that is recognised globally for its high quality and benefits. The long-term goal now will be to develop a strong and sustainable camel milk industry, the first of its kind in the world. Our company will delightedly contribute to these efforts”, he concluded.

In March of this year, following a five-year-long process issuing and amending regulations and guidelines to comply with those of the EU Commission, Dubai received EU permission to export camel milk and camel milk products to the EU. In a joined effort and in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment & Water and Dubai Municipality, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) and EICMP presented a camel milk safety plan which was evaluated as compliant to the EU’s food safety and health guidelines.