There are no concerns about food security in the UAE, with the country equipped to deal with any crisis, chief executive of producer and distributor Ghitha Holding has said.
“Most of our production is based in the UAE … and I can guarantee personally, [that in the] UAE you don't need to worry about any food issue for the next 100 years. We have a good infrastructure here,” Falal Ameen told The National at the Make it in the Emirates event on Tuesday.
Ghitha, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-listed holding company 2PointZero Group, runs food production and distribution businesses across dairy, poultry, fish, agriculture, food commodities, edible oils, trading and distribution sectors.
Al Ain Farms, Marmum Dairy, NRTC Group and Ripe Fresh are among the businesses Ghitha operates.
The Iran war, which began on February 28, has disrupted supply chains with the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway, remaining effectively closed.
However, thanks to a number of major ports and global aviation hubs, supply chains in the UAE have been easily diverted, Mr Ameen said.
“I'm not considering this a big challenge – compared to Covid, it’s a very small challenge. We were only worried [for] one day … [on] the second day we were back to normal.”
The impact on food prices has also been minimal, he added.
Ghitha is a key player supporting the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051, which aims to make the country the world’s best on the Global Food Security Index by 2051. It also seeks to broaden domestic production, boost regional interconnectivity and broaden food supply chains.
At Make it in the Emirates, two of Ghitha’s subsidiaries - Al Ain Farms Group and NRTC Group - announced a joint venture to launch Al Ain Taaza, a brand targeting one third of the country’s Dh500 million ($136 millin) fresh juice market within three to five years.
Under the joint venture, NRTC will lead end-to-end production, sourcing and processing, while Al Ain Farms will contribute in-house bottle manufacturing and a nationwide distribution network reaching more than 23,000 outlets daily, a company statement said.
Al Ain Taaza will be launched in the third quarter of this year, with a range of more than 15 flavours of fresh juice.
In line with the UAE's focus on domestic production, several players are entering the market, or expanding, especially in segments such as vertical farming, poultry and dairy.
But Mr Ameen is not worried about increasing competition. “If we need food security, we need a lot of players,” he said. “We love to be part of our ecosystem. We need more players, we need more private investment, we need more talented people, because otherwise we'll be stuck in one place.”
Mr Ameen is confident that in the not-so-distant future, the entire national supply chain will be in the UAE, from end to end. “We need to make sure we have to make everything from here, because the technology is advancing every day,” he said.
Looking ahead, the company is keen to expand outside the UAE, with initial plans targeting the Middle East and North Africa. “I need to be a regional player and I need to stick with my current portfolio to expand,” he added.
