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  www.messe-essen.de   www.planetfair.com
 
26.02.2009 


DUBAI’S GREENIFICATION PROJECTS AND STRATEGIC LOCATION BOOST PERISHABLES INDUSTRY
Twin shows capitalise on continued demand for plant, flowers, fruits and vegetables

Dubai, UAE, February 18, 2009: The UAE’s drive to improve the quality of life for its residents, along with the city’s strategic location as an import and re-export hub, has helped sustain the growth potential for perishables across the region. The fertile environment has enabled this year’s International Plant Expo Middle East (IPM) to bloom, increasing tenancy by eight per cent, whilst also facilitating the debut of a dedicated World of Perishables (WOP) show. This inaugural exhibition has capitalised on the trade in fresh fruit and vegetables across the GCC – valued between $US3-4 billion, based on 2007-2008 data provided by the Dubai Customs’ statistics department.

“The sustained growth in the regional perishables market can be attributed to two significant factors,” revealed Michael Müller, Managing Director for planetfair, organisers of the two shows, which take place from March 3-5 at Dubai Airport Expo. “Firstly, the UAE government’s plans to increase its parks and recreation areas have buoyed demand for plants and horticultural products and services along with real estate developments that are underway. Secondly, the city’s location has enabled it to cement its position on the map as an import and export hub for the region,” he added.

Throughout the emirates, a number of new parks are being completed with the aim of improving recreation facilities for residents. In Dubai, a new park in Al Qusais is set to open shortly, with the Municipality completing the work for a Dhs26.78 million pond park. Another similar amenity is being readied at Al Qouz, which has a total area of 7.62 hectares and at least two more parks are planned in Al Barsha and Al Nahda areas. Abu Dhabi Municipality has approved the final designs of seven new parks, also aiming to improve on green space in the emirate, through the use of meadows and natural reserves. Recent news reports also state that they aim to increase the number of palm trees to about 41 million, with an additional 150 million fruitful forest trees. This Emirati greenification policy has been a boon for IPM 2009, as the strategy has encouraged demand for landscaping and horticultural services.

WOP 2009 is making its debut by twinning with IPM 2009 and is supported by Al Aweer Market, the largest wholesale facility for fruit and vegetables in the UAE. This large logistic complex houses around 700 companies providing related services for edible perishables; such as transport, clearing and forwarding, with 200 fruit and vegetable trading companies operating there.

In 2005, the market received a total of 13,376 fruit and vegetable delivery trucks, with a planetfair market report from 2008 suggesting that this would rise to 20,000 by the year end. In fact, the total number of recorded vehicles at the close of 2008 had risen to 34,949 trucks – a phenomenal increase of 261 per cent in just three years.

The top five retailers of fruit and vegetables in the UAE are Carrefour, Co-op UAE, Emke Group (LuLu), Spinneys and Choitram which represent 30 per cent of the total market volume, according to Trade Middle East 2008, with trade in fresh fruit and vegetables amounting to between eight and 12 per cent of total turnover.

Dubai’s strategic location as a staging post midway between the east and west has served the UAE’s perishables industries well, with the facilities at Dubai Airport seeing imports of fruit and vegetables jumping by 36 per cent within one year, according to the 2008 planetfair market report. Topping the country list for both imports and re-exports (per produce weight) was India, at 314.316 tons and 157,257 tons respectively. The emirate has also been an important re-export hub for the GCC countries; with statistics from the same period showing total re-exports to the Gulf States as being 226,273 tons. Saudi Arabia featured as the GCC country with the highest tonnage of exports to Dubai; the figure translating to 307 trucks being received into Al Aweer market from the Kingdom.

“IPM continues to be the leading regional platform for plants and flowers and is now in its fourth successful incarnation, having tripled in size since its inception in 2006,” said Sabina Dillen, Head of Exhibitions at Messe Essen, co-organisers of the show. “WOP is making its debut because of the strong potential of the fruit and vegetable import and export industries and we anticipate a combined footfall of 5,500 local and international visitors attending the twin expos over the three days,” she added.

WOP 2009 covers 4,000 square metres with 80 registered exhibitors from 17 countries. It includes regional market leaders, with well-known names such as Unifrutti Asia, Fresh Fruits Comp, Shokri Hassan, Barakat and Farzana. The event is being held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum- Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality.

WOP takes place alongside the 4th edition IPM Dubai 2009, the region’s largest plant and flowers trade fair featuring 250 exhibitors from 22 countries. IPM Dubai 2009 is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports.

Both exhibitions are backed by Dubai Airports, Dubai Flower Centre, Dubai Municipality and the Ministry of Environment and Water.
-Ends-

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