Dubai Imports 8 Million Ton Food in 2021

Dubai, 17 February 2022:  Dubai has imported 8 million tons of food during 2021 and re-exported 6.277million shipments through all its ports. It also issued 78,812 food export health certificates, while the quantity of food exported last year amounted to 3.272 tons, which were exported to 157 countries, after verifying their safety and compliance with food safety standards and requirements. 

Sultan Al Taher, Director of Food Safety Department in Dubai Municipality said that these efforts come in compliance with the Municipality's responsibility for the continued flow of food imports to Dubai's markets, and to ensure the smooth flow of their passage through the ports following strict procedures in controlling incoming food shipments. 

He said no food item is sold in Dubai unless it is registered within the regulatory system subject to the provisions of food control regarding local and imported foodstuff, so that it reaches the consumer within the approved standards and specifications, which contributes to the follow-up of food, starting from the arrival from the port to the storage facility.

Al Taher pointed out that accurate mechanisms are followed to organize the control operations on all foodstuffs constantly in the storages of food establishments and commercial companies, to ensure that shipments meet all the requirements and controls set by the Municipality for food safety, as they are apparently revealed and the necessary laboratory tests are conducted to verify their compliance with the approved specifications and standards and these procedures are carried out easily, ensuring the highest levels of food safety. 

He said that all types of food are registered electronically, through a global system, which is one of the unique systems in controlling imported and locally produced foods in the emirate, in terms of sample results, risk ratios in materials, and dates for collecting samples from them across their locations.
Al Taher emphasized on linking the emirate with countries that apply special requirements in food safety, which facilitates food control, as it comes from approved countries and applies global practices in this regard. 

“When foodstuff enters the emirate, we monitor everything related to its safety in a smart way through the e-platform, because the merchants who receive it are registered with the Municipality’s smart inspection system, in addition to that we monitor the transportation of food to warehouses, then shops, until it reaches the consumer,” he added.