Dubai — The number of food shipments that arrived in Dubai through land, sea and air in 2016 was 351,761 and their total volume was 33.74 million tonnes, said an official of Dubai Municipality.
Dr Essam Al Hashimi, head of Food Trade Control Section of Dubai Municipality, said there has been a significant increase in food imports to Dubai in 2016 compared to previous years.
“In years 2013, 2014 and 2015, number of food shipments to Dubai were 293,903, 317,879 and 339,979 respectively,” said Al Hashimi.
However, last year out of the total number of shipments 343,793 were for the local market and 7,968 for re-export.
“Despite an increase in quantity of food imported to Dubai last year, the proportion of damaged food was reduced compared to previous years,” said Al Hashimi.
He added that the drop in cases of damaged food was due to the strict policies being implemented by Dubai government. In 2013, 30,420kg of damaged food was destroyed while in 2016 it was reduced to 13,952kg.
Al Hashimi said the number of foodstuff companies registered in Dubai for export and import also increased from 886 in 2013 to 3,253 last year.
