Agriculture In The United Arab Emirates - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Agriculture In The United Arab Emirates - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Agriculture in the United Arab Emirates is projected to register a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period 2022-2027.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture sector in the United Arab Emirates suffered from farm labor shortages during the harvesting and input supply crisis, which, in turn, hampered production in the country. The repeated lockdowns and shutdowns of processing units affected the supply chain and limited trade movements to other countries. Moreover, the lack of storage facilities led to a huge quality loss in the country's produce. As the country is renowned for luxurious resorts and tourist places, due to the global lockdowns, the demand for fresh produce, including cereals, fruits, and vegetables, declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With high per capita food consumption, the United Arab Emirates is the most promising agriculture market in the GCC region. The United Arab Emirates’ cereal production is moderately high, but the country is not fully self-sufficient in terms of agriculture production. The United Arab Emirates is still dependent on imports for cereals.

According to FAO, in the United Arab Emirates, cereals production in 2020 was 15,978 ton, which was very minimal. Similarly, fruits production amounted to 361,471 ton, and vegetable production stood at 233,009 ton in 2020. With the government prioritizing the production of fruits and vegetables, production is showing positive growth. Hydroponics is emerging in this region since the process requires less quantity of water and no land or soil. All these factors are driving the growth of agriculture in the United Arab Emirates.

Dates are a major crop grown in the United Arab Emirates. According to FAO, dates lead the agricultural crop production, amounting to 328,669 ton in 2020. Despite various unfavorable soil and climatic factors, the production of various crops in the United Arab Emirates is increasing due to various initiatives by the government, such as free cultivation, 50% lesser cost of crop protection, veterinary services, and fertilizers at 50% lesser cost.

According to FAO, the production of dates amounted to 328,669 ton, followed by tomatoes with 43,121 ton, and cucumber and gherkins added up to 57,052 ton in 2020, thus, showing steady growth for agriculture in the United Arab Emirates.

Further, the country considers food security to be essential to the security and well-being of its citizens and residents. In 2018, the United Arab Emirates launched its National Food Security Policy to increase production by 30-40% in 10 years. The country also aims to practice sustainable agriculture to improve the efficiency of its farms, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

According to ITC Trade Map, the import of cereals was valued at USD 1,189.3 million in 2020, an increase from the USD 1,080.3 million recorded in 2019. Increased import of cereals is due to high local consumption and a decrease in government grain stocks. Among cereals, rice is majorly imported. The majority of UAE rice imports are milled rice, while others include paddy, brown, and broken rice.

As the country seeks to enhance its food security amid the disruption of supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an agricultural trading platform to connect Indian farmers with food companies in the United Arab Emirates was established in 2020. The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre’s platform, named Agriota and developed with India’s CropData Technology, enables trading in cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, spices, and condiments.

According to ITC Trade Map, India is the dominant supplier of cereals to the United Arab Emirates and held a 35.8% share in total imports in 2020. The Russian Federation was ranked second highest exporter to the United Arab Emirates, with a 17% share of total imports. The increasing imports suggest that opportunities are increasing in the United Arab Emirates.

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support