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DUBAI IN FOCUS: AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL COFFEE AND
DMCC at the heart of the global coffee and tea trade
THE DMCC TEA AND COFFEE CENTRE IN JEBEL ALI PLAY A KEY ROLE IN REAFFIRMING THE POSITION OF DUBAI AS A LEADING HUB WITHIN THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN
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It is no secret that Dubai always aims to do things bigger and better – setting an example for the rest of the world. The ambitious plans to continuously expand its coffee and tea commodity sectors is testimony to this.
Today, the UAE is one of the largest re-exporters of tea worldwide, with a global share of approximately 60 per cent – a remarkable feat that was achieved in just a little over a decade. Dubai also retains a leading position as a global coffee trading hub. In fact, external coffee trade has generated over AED 3.5 billion during the last decade. The state-of-the-art DMCC Tea Centre and DMCC Coffee Centre in Jebel Ali are at the heart of this success journey, allowing Dubai to remain the trusted partner for the different stakeholders across the global supply chain of these commodities. The centres provide worldclass facilities and infrastructure, extensive logistical support and a wide range of services to develop and grow the coffee and tea trade in the region and beyond.
The march to success Only a few years ago, it has been questioned how Dubai, a city that did not produce a single tea leaf or coffee bean, could become the nerve centre of commodities trade on a global stage.
In 2005, the DMCC Tea Centre was launched with a vision of positioning Dubai as a global
60% global
re-exports of tea happen from the UAE
10 million
tea bags produced by DMCC Tea Centre every year
leader in the tea industry. A purpose-built facility that provides tea storage, processing, packing, and trading services, alongside networking opportunities between its members., the Centre has become a major player that connects top tea producers in Southeast Asia and Africa with consumers in Europe and the rest of the world.
While it was a long journey to witness the great success it is today, the DMCC Coffee Centre, rose to prominence overnight. Launched in 2019, the Centre is a first-of-its-kind facility in the Middle East, with a capacity to process 20,000 tonnes each green coffee beans per year. The 15,000 m2 temperature-controlled facility provides a wide range of services to the entire coffee value chain, from crop to cup, including inbound/outbound logistics support, warehousing, roasting, packaging and distribution services.
Swift business setup DMCC, through its integration with Jafza, finds great strength in the exceptional nexus of trade routes that connect with the entire world. It offers an extensive range of business services, access to a growing community of relevant stakeholders and unparalleled networking opportunities for traders and entrepreneurs seeking to grow their businesses. Companies can store merchandise, meet suppliers and manufacturers and connect with peers while benefitting from cutting-edge solutions and tax-friendly policies.
Premium member benefits With a DMCC license, traders and business owners can access the Dubai Trade Portal, the single window solution for cross-border trade. Each and every stakeholder across the supply chain, from farmers and exporters to traders, roasters and retailers, can benefit from access to world-class facilities, a business friendly ecosystem and dynamic community.
At the heart of re-exports Owing to its great share of re-exports from a global perspective, it is evident that multinationals, SMEs and entrepreneurs are all provided with a host of opportunities to thrive and succeed by doing business in Dubai. The DMCC Tea and Coffee Centres are always on the lookout to open doors for new trading opportunities by liaising with Dubai Customs to give members access to the latest data and analytics. This helps members seize trading opportunities by getting an accurate, high-level overview of the changing trends within the sector.
USD 1 billion
generated through external coffee trade in a decade
JAFZA : A PROFITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE BASE FOR THE F&B SECTOR
JAFZA IS ONE OF THE LARGEST TRADE HUBS AROUND THE WORLD. IN ADDITION TO A TOTAL AREA OF 1.7 MILLION SQUARE METERS FOR THE FOOD, LIVESTOCK, AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY; THE FREE ZONE’S WORLD-CLASS FACILITIES HAVE ATTRACTED MORE THAN 600 COMPANIES SPECIALISED IN TRADING AND MANUFACTURING OF FOOD PRODUCTS FROM 70 COUNTRIES. THESE STATE-OF-THEART FACILITIES INCLUDE JEBEL ALI’S AGRI TERMINAL, QUAYSIDE FOOD AND GRAIN STORAGE SILOS, AS WELL AS REFRIGERATED AND COVERED WAREHOUSES.
Abhiroop Chuckarbutty
President of Africa, Middle East and Turkey operations, ekaterra
Our commitment to eco-conscious business practices was recognised when our flagship Jafza-based site won the Dubai Green Industry award in 2020, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MRM) Business Excellence Award for the third time in 2021, and the Dubai Smart Industry Award in 2022. We were the first site in the UAE to be zero waste to landfill and set the trend in sustainability at a regional level
The pandemic severely impacted our business. At one point, we lost over 80 per cent of our sales. But since then, thanks to Jafza and the efforts of the UAE government, we’ve risen above that and are now back on track in terms of growth. Gulf Seafood was posting eight per cent compounded annual growth before the pandemic.
Richard Pereira
Chief Operating Officer for Enhance Group – Manufacturing
Arnaud Thulliez
CEO, Indoguna Productions
Our products are perfect for all food aficionados, including vegan, vegetarian, as well as meat lovers. The company is known in the retail industry for going above and beyond to exceed customer expectations. We like to work closely with our customers, and offer tasting opportunities to clients to ensure that the taste of our products meets their expectations before they make a purchase. We are 100 per cent halal, ESMA certified, and SFDA-approved.
Ali Taha
Head of Marketing & Communications Al Bayader International
One of the key ways that we received Jafza’s support was by being part of their robust e-commerce platform called DUBUY.com - the single platform for exports, imports and regional trade. The B2B e-marketplace allowed us to widen our consumer base. While DP World’s DUBUY has opened up access to different parts of the world, our own e-commerce platforms have bolstered our expansion within the UAE and the wider GCC region.
Mark Rogers
Managing Director Intagulf
Our existence in a free zone such as Jafza has helped us a lot in our business growth. Our goods are excisable, we operate in a duty-free environment, and our products and services do not involve VAT charges. Moreover, our presence in Jafza allows us to export our products to various parts of the world, including East Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and the far East Asia region. We supply our products to a total of 74 countries, out of which, more than 45 are supplied via Dubai.
McCormick Kutas: Mastering the art of flavours
CREATING GLOBAL FLAVOUR EXPERIENCES AND PROVIDING FOOD CONNOISSEURS EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO UP THEIR KITCHEN GAME, THE COMPANY IS STRENGTHENING FARMING COMMUNITIES AND PROTECTING THE PLANET
With every milestone in McCormick Kutas’s 130+ year history, the global leader in food manufacturing has raised the bar of the art, science and passion of flavour, improving the universal experience of eating. The company’s unmatched track record of serving across 170 countries and territories, has helped them strengthen customers’ confidence in its iconic brands and products that offer the highest quality, flavour, aroma and integrity.
In conversation with the Zone, Kate Brooks, Managing Director, McCormick Kutas Middle East, sheds light on its corporate ethos, people-focused approach and more.
At McCormick Kutas, we are passionate about flavour. For more than a century, we’ve thrived because our flavours have brought people together across the table worldwide, igniting shared experiences and shared purpose. As the global leader in flavour, we know it is foundational to our food and our shared future. Flavour has untapped potential to enhance our health, our communities, and our planet in ways that taste great. That is why we are working towards a flavorful future where healthy, sustainable, and delicious go hand in hand.
Through our work, we focus on the needs of all our stakeholders, growing value for both our business and our world. Our purpose is not just to sell our delicious products – but to strengthen the people, communities, and planet we serve. This means standing with the farmers who grow our delicious flavours and innovating farming techniques that do more good for them and the planet. It means standing with the communities where we work and grow, partnering to ensure they can thrive for future generations. It means standing with our employees and creating great places to work that offer opportunities for all. And it means standing with our customers and consumers, innovating new products that make good food taste great while contributing to healthier, happy lives.
Can you tell us about your people-first approach to the workplace? At McCormick Kutas, one of our foundational principles is the Power of People which encompasses an unwavering commitment to our people-first, high-performance culture and a focus on respecting and valuing every person.
How does being in Jafza support your business and operations? The range of businesses within Jafza enables us to source other services quickly and easily from within the free zone’s holistic ecosystem. Additionally, being close to the Jebel Ali Port is a great advantage for both importing raw materials and exporting finished goods.
How are you catering to the spike in demand or shortage in supplies, in particular during the current supply chain disruptions? We work in a highly collaborative way with both our suppliers and customers, ensuring the best possible forecasts are used, enabling us to plan ahead, and adjust stock levels as required.
To what extent do you rely on technology adoption in your operational and business processes, and do you utilise the power of data to improve your profits? We are constantly embracing technology and digitalisation to help us deliver for customers and consumers. We continue to invest in capacity expansion and are using leading-edge technology to help us do this including the installation of a new paddle blender this year.
From a data point of view, we are investing in local and regional insights to drive consumer-relevant new product development. We also look at
the future of Global Flavour trends and what will be the next big flavours through our annual Flavour Forecast Report.
What are your plans for the near future in this region and beyond? Our Dubai plant recently celebrated its sixth anniversary. We have been on a positive growth trajectory since we opened our doors here in 2016 and this is set to continue. We aim to build on existing customer relationships, ensuring we develop and supply products which delight the end consumer, while also attracting additional business with new customers within the GCC.
At a global level, we are confident that the strength of our business model and the value of our products and capabilities position us well for the long term and will allow us to successfully navigate the current dynamic global environment. We continue to benefit from the longterm consumer trends that have accelerated since the beginning of the pandemic, including the sustained shift to cooking more at home, increased digital engagement, clean and flavorful eating, and trusted brands. Our alignment with these trends, in combination with the breadth and reach of our portfolio and our strategic investments, provides a strong foundation for sustainable growth. McCormick Kutas’s long-term performance, including through the pandemic and other periods of volatility, has been industry-leading. The fundamentals that have driven our historical performance remain strong and our experienced leaders are executing our proven strategies while adapting to challenges accordingly. From a data point of view, we are investing in local and regional insights to drive consumer-relevant new product development. We also look at the future of Global Flavour trends and what will be the next big flavours through our annual Flavour Forecast Report.
RICHARD PEREIRA CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER FOR ENHANCE GROUP – MANUFACTURING
Gulf Seafood marches from strength to strength, reignites post-COVID growth
BEST-IN-CLASS TECHNOLOGIES, SPECTACULAR PRODUCTS AND ITS STRONG BASE IN JAFZA ARE ENABLING THE COMPANY’S UPWARD TRAJECTORY, DESPITE THE ODDS
Gulf Seafood is one of the UAE’s leading food service focused seafood processing companies. Headquartered in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the company has been serving the world with premium quality frozen seafood for more than three decades. Owing to its high standards of quality and service, the company has a loyal customer base including the likes of 5-star hotels, fine dining and chain restaurants, flight kitchens, catering companies and distributors.
The Zone speaks to Richard Pereira, Chief Operating Officer for Enhance Group – Manufacturing, to know more about the company’s stellar offerings, sustainability measures, Jafza’s crucial role in enhancing business in the post-COVID era and future expansion plans.
Elaborate on the company’s growth and expansion plans.
Gulf Seafood has been operating in Jafza for almost 30 years. We have quite literally progressed alongside the free zone.
Our business is 100 per cent food service focused. The pandemic severely impacted our business. At one point, we lost over 80 per cent of our sales.
But since then, thanks to Jafza and the efforts of the UAE government, we’ve risen above that and are now back on track in terms of growth. Gulf Seafood was posting eight per cent compounded annual growth before the pandemic. We once again look forward to expanding our business consistently in the UAE and beyond
and are very excited for what the future holds.
How does the company’s facility in Jafza enable its growth? Jafza has definitely played a crucial role in our growth over the years. Being in the free zone has been a real blessing for us, as we started as an export company and sold primarily to Europe. Having our headquarters in the free zone has allowed us to be close to and well connected with our core markets across the world. We can export and import goods in a speedy and seamless way. The infrastructure here and the continuous support for businesses makes working here just outstanding. technology platforms that exist in the free zone are remarkable and make it very easy to do business. The processes are simple, clear, and efficient. But best of all is that operating from the free zone has allowed us to remain agile and quickly respond to our customer needs irrespective of their location in any corner of the world.
Which markets does Gulf Seafood serve? We serve several countries in the GCC and beyond. Our primary business is here in the UAE and we also sell in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. We also ship our products to the US, Canada, Mexico, Maldives, and Mauritius.
What role has Jafza played in enhancing business? With Jafza’s support, we have been able to consistently grow our business. The What latest technologies has Gulf Seafood adopted? Cooking and freezing technologies are critical to our business model. We currently have the region’s only freeze drying processing technology which allows us to retain the nutritional value of our products. The process also preserves the actual colour, shape, and texture of the products and ensures that consumers enjoy superior quality foods every single time.
We are also growing our business across multiple sectors which is why we have a wide range of cooked products on offer.
Tell us about your sustainability initiatives We are an eco-conscious business constantly working to reduce our environmental footprint. Our rooftop solar system produces clean energy and constitutes 30 per cent of our total energy consumption. We have an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) that allows us to treat industrial wastewater from our factory for reuse or safe disposal. Our ETP also brings the water up to irrigation standards to be used in the facility here in the UAE. This has made the entire space green and beautiful. Our other initiatives include the use of oxo-biodegradable plastic instead of the standard plastic bags. The former biodegrades naturally and harmlessly without causing environmental damage.
Freeze drying gives us a unique advantage and is enabling us to look at new avenues for growth in the coming years.
