Dubai’s external food trade tops $8.71bn in H1 2020

The Customs Department of Dubai revealed that the region’s external food trade in the first half of the year totaled nine million tonnes, representing a value of $8.71 billion.

According to the latest trade statistics, Dubai’s food imports reached $5.99 billion (6.23 million tonnes), while exports touched $1.50 billion (2.1 million tonnes) and re-exports amounted to $1.23 billion (733,000 tonnes) in the first half of 2020.

Chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said the high value of Dubai’s external food trade in the first half of the year reflects Dubai’s role as a major gateway for global trade.

Dubai’s Food Security Committee, launched in response to the COVID-19 crisis succeeded in ensuring the community had access to abundant food supplies despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Sheikh Mansour said.

“Dubai has developed innovative solutions to monitor and strengthen food security. The Dubai Food Security Dashboard, developed by a local government team uses advanced technology to optimize food trade and stocks, manage price control and find alternative food import routes and sources,” Sheikh Mansour stated, admiring the work done by government agencies to develop the Dashboard as a smart tool for supporting Dubai’s food security strategy.

Launched in June, the Food Security Dashboard uses Artificial Intelligence and data analytics to rapidly measure the five important indicators of food security: the supply index, stock availability, local production, consumption levels, and the cost of vital commodities in the emirate.

The Dubai Customs supports the Dashboard by not only enabling food trading groups and food supply companies to conduct trade but also providing up-to-date data on the trade of food commodities and materials through a messenger system that draws information from customs clearances.

Fishes (H1 of 2020)

• Trade Volume: 98,000 tonnes
• Imports: $205.54 million (76,000 tonnes)
• Exports: $39.61 million (9,000 tonnes)
• Re-exports: $30.82 million (12,500 tonnes)

Livestock and Meats (H1 of 2020)

• Trade Volume: $1.06 billion (448,000 tonnes)
• Imports: $820 million (313,500 tonnes)
• Exports: $130.30 million (92,400 tonnes)
• Re-exports: $119.13 million (42,000 tonnes).

Vegetables (H1 of 2020)

• Trade Volume: $1.91 billion (3.4 million tonnes)
• Imports: $1.23 billion (2.2 million tonnes)
• Exports: $490 million (892,000 tonnes)
• Re-exports: $190.79 million (285,200 tonnes)

Medical Supplies (H1 of 2020)

• Trade Volume: $3.38 billion (79,800 tonnes)
• Imports: $2.64 billion (58,100 tonnes)
• Exports: $79.90 million (7,400 tonnes)
• Re-exports: $630 million (14,200 tonnes)

Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director-General of Dubai Customs, said that Dubai Customs facilitates food trade and provides all relevant data to the Food Security Dashboard to help strategic partners plan their operations, make food security-related decisions and mitigate any impact of the global COVID-19 crisis.