The Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (ZonesCorp), has announced its participation in SIAL Middle East this year from 5th-7th December.

During the exhibition ZonesCorp is planning to unveil its dedicated new Food and Beverage Zones in the Industrial city of Abu Dhabi (ICADIII) and Al Ain.

Saeed Eisa Mohammed Al Khyeli, Director-General of ZonesCorp commented, "F&B manufacturing and processing is a growing sector in the UAE economy with booming internal & (re)export markets as well as being a key enabler sector in the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan."

"Our strategically located Industrial Cities are a natural fit for investors of all sizes from large scale companies to SMEs looking to access local markets and the emerging markets of the Middle and Far East alike. Our zones will feature smaller plots, with fit for purpose facilities ideal for SME’s. Added to which our world class infrastructure, strong logistics network, competitive land rates, tax free environment and the low operating costs are proving very attractive for food producers," he added.

Earlier this year ZonesCorp set aside an additional 358,000m? of prime land for the development of new F&B facilities. Interest in the land has been high with nearly a 3rd of the available acreage already earmarked for development. This includes interest from household brand names such as Nestle Waters which signed an agreement with ZonesCorp to build a AED100 million, 43,000 sqm, water bottling facility in the new food zone in May this year.

The decision to develop a larger dedicated F&B cluster falls in line with the Government of Abu Dhabi’s 2030 plan to develop ‘enabling’ sectors to support ‘focus’ sectors[1] as well as to develop local agriculture and the food-processing sector as part of wider efforts to improve food security and diversify the economy. The Government is also making significant investment in local food production.

In January 2015, as part of the Zaarie Programme, the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development invested AED 130 million (US$ 35.4 million) to develop 130 local farms.

The move is also in response to other socio-economic factors that have seen the rapid growth of F&B production and processing. The UAE is already one of the largest re-exporters of food in the world, as well as being one of the leading tourist and business destinations in the Middle East. This combined with a large influx of expatriates has seen food tastes broaden creating demand for a wider range of food types.

ZonesCorp is already an emerging hub for F&B production, currently housing 24 medium to large scale F&B production and processing facilities on its acreage including water and soft drinks, dates, animal feed, poultry, dairy as well as one of the largest caviar farms in the world. 

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