The Emirates Food Security Council, in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy and Industry, has announced that 568 factories in the UAE produce 5.96 million tons of food and beverage products annually, with 2.3 million tons comprising vital food items.

Releasing the declaration to spotlight the efficiency of the UAEs food production landscape, the council declared that the figure was taken from factories registered in the Ministry of Energy and Industrys licensing system. The council additionally unveiled that the potential of factories running in the UAE can increase their total annual production of a number of food and beverage products by three folds as part of their responsiveness to emergencies and crises.

H.E. Eng. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy & Industry, underlined the advanced productive capacities and excessive flexibility that food factories in the UAE have demonstrated, whether in their potential to improve manufacturing or customize their manufacturing lines to maintain pace with the excessive demand for certain goods. This, in turn, has had a fantastic role in bettering the sustainability of the food safety system in the country, H.E. said. We are working to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of these manufacturing abilities in the lengthy term, in line with the UAE Policy for Advanced Industries, which emphasized the significance of making use of Fourth Industrial Revolution equipment and advanced technologies to increase productiveness and efficiency throughout our national factories.

The food and beverage industry is one of the most essential manufacturing sectors in the country, H.E. Al Mazrouei explained. It is the third-largest zone in terms of the range of national manufacturers, with 568 national factories registered with the Ministry of Energy and Industry. It accounts for 30% of total investments in the industrial sector, and employs 10% of all employees in the industrial sector in the UAE.

The F&B manufacturing sector is a key for attaining food safety and self-sufficiency in essential commodities, H.E. explained. Small and medium-sized national factories account for the overwhelming majority of the sector and supply local and regional markets with a range of primary and secondary products. Additionally, many important global manufacturers have set up factories in the UAE, taking it as a regional centre for their manufacturing and provide activities.

Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, guaranteed that the UAE has an integrated food system that consists of the food processing enterprise which have a massive manufacturing potential that can supply the UAE market with a number of foods and beverages, along with some of the essential food items - an especially necessary consideration throughout the present time.

We are working to enforce the desires of the National Food Security Strategy, key pillars of which are to enhance domestic yield by 30% using technology-enabled production strategies and to increase in manufacturing of select fundamental food items by 15% by 2021. These aims are being executed via full cooperation with our companions in both the government and private sectors, with our strategic partnerships ensuing in further investments in the UAEs food sector and an increase in the wide variety of food initiatives in the country, stated Her Excellency.

The manufacturing potential figures we have launched currently show the power of the food processing sector in the country and our capacity to triple manufacturing if needed. In the coming period we will be striving to improve the capacities of these factories with a range of technological competencies and enable them to diversify the manufacturing of products, stated Her Excellency.

The assertion issued by the Emirates Food Security Council and the Ministry of Energy and Industry affirmed that there are 568 food and beverage factories working across the UAE, with 40 in Abu Dhabi, 315 in Dubai, 77 in Sharjah, 72 in Ajman, 34 in Umm Al Quwain, 23 in Ras Al Khaimah and 7 in Fujairah. These amenities produce 5.96 million tons of food and beverage merchandise annually, with their most manufacturing potential accomplishing more than 16.3 million tons annually.

The products that these factories produce consist of 15 of the necessary food items. Dairy products, which include milk, cheese, cream and butter, make up 633,000 tons, while legumes form a total of nearly 400,000 tons, with this enterprise which includes the processing, packing, roasting and seasoning of few nuts. Cooking oil is an necessary food item and a total of 331,000 tons is produced annually, with the enterprise which includes the manufacturing and refining of vegetable oils and the packaging of vegetable and animal oils and fats.

Dates are another main commodity and food staple for the UAE, with more than 140,000 tons processed, packed or turned into date products annually. Fresh poultry contains 108,000 tons and includes slaughtering, preparing, freezing and manufacturing poultry meat products, while fish production constitutes a total of 63,000 tons, inclusive of canning, processing, and freezing of fish and seafood. The listing of commodities that UAE factories produce additionally consists of sugar, tea, pepper, eggs, baby food, wheat, rice, coffee and fresh meat.

Her Excellency Almheiri reiterated that the secondary industry of the food sector is an integral supporter of the countrys food safety system, as it offers added value to food products and so contributes to growing domestic manufacturing in the long term. She highlighted that the Emirates Food Security Council is working to grant the competencies and mechanisms that warranty the improvement of the secondary industry sector in order to improve overall food security in the UAE.