Dubai gets over 1,500 new food outlets in 9 months

The new food establishments opening in Dubai are a sign of healthy economic recovery, Sultan Ali Taher, acting director of the food safety department and head of the food inspection section, food control department, told Khaleej Times.

“In nine months, from January to end of September 2021, the opening of 1,536 new food establishments are a sign of healthy post-pandemic recovery. If you calculate that into the number of establishments which have opened per day, it comes up to 5.5 new outlets per day,” said Al Taher.

At present, there are a total of 20,412 food establishments in Dubai, said Al Taher.

“The number of new outlets which have opened is not limited to hotels and restaurants, but also catering facilities, groceries, small kiosks, hotels, cloud kitchen facilities, fish, vegetable and poultry outlets, etc,” he explained.

The official said the confidence among new investors in the food sector is generally high, post-pandemic.

“If you look at the number of Covid-19 cases, the rate of economic recovery, and with Expo 2020 happening, confidence among new investors is very high,” he explained.

Experts have said the UAE is one of the best-placed countries in the world to lead the recovery from the pandemic.

The UAE has begun a new phase in the recovery from the pandemic, Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management tweeted on Saturday.