UAE aims to boost food and agriculture sector’s GDP contribution by $10 billion

Food products trade in the UAE amounted to Dh130 billion in 2022

Last updated: September 23, 2023 | 17:13

3 MIN READ

Bin Touq commended UAE Food Platform’s (launched during the Forum) ability to enable public-private collaboration in food security.

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Closing the fifth Future Food Forum on Thursday, Bin Touq praised the country’s F&B sector initiatives in skill development and digital-infrastructure capabilities achieved through various programmes to reshape how food is produced, distributed, and consumed in the region and globally.

The UAE, today, is considered one of the most important hubs of global food logistics. Food products trade amounted to Dh130 billion in 2022 alone compared to Dh105 billion in 2021, registering a growth of 24 per cent in one year; food trading was 5.7 per cent of the UAE non-oil trade.

“We are working on a strategy to transform our Food and Agriculture cluster into a global power; the essential pillars around this work, which I’m about to say represents our commitment to innovation sustainability and self-sufficiency and food production,” said Bin Touq. 

He noted that the first pillar is localising the next generation of agri-disruptors and growing them into global champions by nurturing local talents and innovation by identifying and supporting the next-generation solutions.

Furthermore, the sixth pillar will focus on enabling players to diversify and access new markets by creating pathways for all agriculture players. Finally, the strategy aims to build the next generation of farmers, who are the future of agriculture and agri-tech.

Bin Touq expressed commitment to providing farmers with the knowledge, technology and resources they need to succeed through training programmes, modernisation efforts, and support systems to ensure that the agriculture workforce is prepared to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.

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