Expects double digit growth in the sector in the year; Jafza Forum elaborates on its Halal initiative

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 19, 2015

Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the flagship free zone of Dubai and trade and logistics hub for the wider Middle East region comprising West Asia, Africa and the CIS, has seen 3-fold increase in the number of companies in the FMCG, Food and Healthcare sector in the last ten years. The sector is estimated to have generated trade worth over AED 30 billion in 2014.

These numbers were revealed by Talal Al Hashimi, Chief Operation Officer of Jafza in his welcome note at the Jafza Customer Forum for FMCG, Food and Healthcare companies, held on Tuesday (17th Feb) at TechnoPark based state-of-the-art Business Park.

Talal Al Hashimi said:

"FMCG, Food and Healthcare is the third largest sector in the Free Zone in terms of size. The sector has witnessed 300% growth in the number of companies in the last decade growing from 283 in 2004 to 829 in 2014. The sector has registered 400% growth in the volume of trade during this period reaching AED 30 billion last year. Looking at the trend I expect double digit growth this year. The remarkable growth reaffirms Jafza's position as the trade and logistics hub and huge growth opportunities for the businesses engaged in the sector in the rapidly growing wider Middle East region.

"The continued focus of regional governments on building social and economic infrastructure, despite decline in oil prices, will provide further push to already growing food and healthcare markets. These opportunities must be capitalized on. The current forum aims for a comprehensive dialogue to find ways to take optimum leverage of emerging opportunities and boost growth in the FMCG, Food and Healthcare sector."

Al Hashimi also highlighted the recent initiative of Economic Zones World (EZW), the parent company of Jafza, to position Dubai and the Free Zone as the global hub for Halal products.

"The global Halal market is valued at USD 2.3 trillion and it is estimated that one out of every four human beings consumes halal products. The EZW initiative opens huge additional opportunities for Jafza based companies in the sector," he said.

EZW, early last year, announced the plan to develop two world-class Halal Zones, one in Jafza and another in TechnoPark, specifically designed to cater to the regional and international Halal Product markets. The move seeks to support Dubai assume the status of the capital of the world's Islamic Economy as well as "the global hub for Halal products".

EZW plans to develop Halal Zones as all-inclusive hubs, supported with world-class infrastructure, perfectly suited to attract leading enterprises in the entire gamut of halal industry.

Halal Zones will integrate a one-stop-shop system to service each and every need of customers in the halal supply chain, offering ease of doing business.

EZW seeks to collaborate and attract organisations, associations, accreditation bodies, R&D, as well as advisory firms to support the entire halal value chain right from R&D, product development to sourcing, production, logistics, sales and marketing.

Jafza seeks to promote the Halal Standards globally, which are being evolved by Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology (ESMA) to attract enterprises within the Halal industry.

The National Halal Mark developed by ESMA was officially released at the recently held Gulfood Exhibition in Dubai. Two companies have been certified to use the Halal Mark at the event.

The Forum included a dedicated workshop held by ESMA which briefed Jafza customers on various aspects of National Halal Mark including legal framework, scope of regulation, definitions, procedure for obtaining Halal Mark and applicable standards.

HE Abdulla Al Maeeni, Acting Director General of Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, in his presentation gave a broad outline of the initiative and responded to various queries raised by Jafza companies at the customer forum.

Yousef Al Marzooqi, Head of External Conformity, in his presentation talked about all other aspects of the Halal Mark.

The forums are part of Jafza's ongoing efforts of maintaining open channels of communication with its customers, and provide a platform to discuss global trends and opportunities in each industry sector. The forums also provide an opportunity to Jafza management and customers to interact with each other to find ways to take optimum advantage of emerging opportunities and boost growth in respective industry segments.

Senior Jafza officials including Talal Al Hashimi, Adil Al Zarooni, Senior Vice President - Sales, and Samir Chaturvedi, Senior Vice President - Customer Relations and Development, briefed the industry gathering on various initiatives the Free Zone has taken to address customer concerns and support their growth.

Jafza last year launched several facilities and infrastructure projects including the development of a multi-million light industrial facility (LIU-10) and a number of access gate projects in the Free Zone.

Leading industry players including Unilever, Dohler, Mars, Nestle, FSL, Gulf Seafood, Hunter Foods, Masterbaker, Wild flavors, Cedars-Jebel Ali Intl. Hospital, Quest Vitamins among others from the sector attended the forum.

Jafza management and partners including Dubai Customs, DP World, Dubai Trade, Trakhees, Dubai Chamber, Ministry of Health, Dubai Exports and Jebel Ali Port & Free Zone Security addressed customer queries and suggestions to improve free zone operations.

-End -

About Economic Zones World (EZW)
EZW is the global provider of sustainable industrial and logistics infrastructure solutions. EZW's current portfolio includes Jafza, TechnoPark and Dubai Auto Zone.

Jafza is Economic Zones World's flagship operation. It is the region's most efficient logistics hub and the only one in the world located between a top container terminal (Jebel Ali Port) and a top international airport (Al Maktoum International Airport), enabling the best in multi-modal connectivity. Jafza is a leading driver of Dubai's non-oil trade. In 2013 the Free Zone has generated trade worth about USD 90 billion.

TechnoPark is the company's dedicated initiative in the region's core economic sectors - Water, Health, Energy, Engineering and Logistics. It focuses on nurturing business ideas/new technologies in the above fields, which could be quickly translated into real-world industrial operations.

Dubai Auto Zone (DAZ) is a comprehensive market place for the Auto Industry catering to buyers, sellers, service providers, principals and traders.

About Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza)
Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) is one of the world's leading free zones. It is the region's most efficient logistics hub and the only one in the world located between a top container terminal (Jebel Ali Port) and a top international airport (Al Maktoum International Airport), enabling the best in multi-modal connectivity. Jafza is a leading driver of Dubai's non-oil trade. In 2013 the Free Zone has generated trade worth about USD 90 billion.

As the leading business hub of the Middle East, it focuses on long term customer relationships and fosters alliances with global investors by providing them world class infrastructure duly supported with quality driven value added services and incentives, enabling them to avail huge business opportunities in the region, in the most efficient way.

www.jafza.ae | Follow @jafzadubai on Twitter, @jafzadubai on Instagram

For further queries please contact Mr Var Prasad Rao (Corporate Editor)
on +971-50-9400163.

© Press Release 2015