The UAE’s efforts to rein in food prices could have fortuitous health benefits.
With no foreseeable end to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the resultant inflationary impact has begun trickling down to our part of the world too. UAE residents have already started to feel the pinch as the squeezing effect of rising fuel and food prices tug at our purse strings.
While fuel and food prices are inevitably intertwined, the UAE’s sound medium- to long-term strategies to enhance food production and distribution capacity promise to aid citizens and residents in their efforts to curb expenses.
In the wake of disrupted global food supplies, while other nations in the region have been struggling to procure staple food items, the UAE has not only been able to leverage its historic trade ties with some of its export partners, but has also been swift in identifying new trade partners to ensure availability, quality, and affordability of food, earning an enviable 35th position (among 113 countries) in the Global Food Security Index.
A highly commendable achievement for a nation that imports over 80 percent of its food.
Earlier this year in her capacity as chairwoman of the Emirates Food Security Council, Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said, “The UAE works to meet its goal of ranking at the top of the Global Food Security Index by 2051 through utilising data to inform strategies that advance the transition to a sustainable future and ensuring the provision of safe and healthy food at affordable prices.”
As part of this strategy the UAE has effectively diversified its supply chain. For instance, in a bid to keep the prices of fresh produce in check, the country turned to CIS nations. It also helped that this move coincided with a time when the farmers in these countries were finding it difficult to trade owing to the conflict in the region and were seeking new export markets.
While the decision was mostly driven by financial and logistical factors, it has resulted in a serendipitous benefit to UAE consumers. They are now able to choose fresh produce such as fruits, nuts and berries from these new markets that are cost-effective and equally tasty alternatives to comparable products flown in from markets further afield.
Similarly, in addition to restrictions on wheat exports, nearly a dozen countries have implemented export restrictions on yet another essential ingredient – edible oil. Much like the rest of the world, the UAE was reliant on Russia and witnessed a steep price rise in these categories of oils, especially sunflower oil.
However, an interesting phenomenon is that in comparison, canola oil prices remained steady here. This can be attributed to the fact that the UAE imports the raw material, rapeseed, primarily from markets such as Canada, Australia, and India. Canola oil is touted as one of the healthier oils due to its low level of saturated fat.
So, could a happy side effect be that due to consistency in the availability and pricing of canola oil, it could eventually push the population to alter their cooking practices? More significantly, will the commercial food industry replace this critical ingredient with a supposedly healthier alternative (like the canola oil) to keep the output prices stable?
Just like how rationing during the time of war led to the invention and consumption of ‘brown’ bread that was higher in nutritional value, could it be that during times of adversity (or inflation in this case), we are able to benefit from possibly better quality, yet less expensive alternatives? As the dark clouds of financial uncertainty looms over the horizon, these possibilities offer a silver lining.
So, the next time you head out to your neighbourhood grocery store, take a closer look at other available options in the adjacent shelf before you pick the usual fare. You may end up with cost effective and arguably better-quality substitutes in your cart, with an added advantage of emerging healthier, wealthier, and wiser by the time the global economy recovers.
Vineetha Sony is Head of Trade, Middle East, at OCO Global in Dubai
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