Government controls on food prices will ensure shopping remains affordable for families amid a global surge in the cost of goods, the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment has said.
The country has price caps on thousands of food items, said Mariam Al Mheiri, who oversees food security.
Inflation is on the rise in many countries, including the UAE. Dubai lender Emirates NBD has just revised up its inflation estimate for 2022 to 4-4.5 per cent, from 2-2.5 per cent.
“This is all being very closely monitored by the Ministry of Economy,” Ms Al Mheiri said in an interview with The National, when asked about the inflation rate.
When it comes to a point where the traders are really, really suffering, there is a mechanism in place ... where we discuss what would be acceptable to raise up as a price point
Mariam Al Mheiri
“The prices of most foods are capped here in the UAE. So there is a close control on it.”
World food prices hit a record high in February, led by a surge in vegetable oils and dairy products, amounting to a 20.7 per cent increase year-on-year, the UN's food agency said last month.
Rises are linked to a broader surge in inflation as countries recover from the coronavirus pandemic, higher oil prices affecting shipping, and rising tension in the Black Sea even before the invasion of Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has led to a huge increase in the global price of wheat, affecting the Middle East and Africa in particular.
Ms Al Mheiri said supermarkets and suppliers were expected to shoulder increases in price to a point, before requesting rises if there is a case to do so.
“When it comes to a point where the traders are really, really suffering, there is a mechanism in place … where we discuss what would be acceptable to raise up as a price point.
“This is done in close collaboration with the private sector, but for now things are OK.”
If that changes, the community would receive advance notice of any changes to the caps, she said.
“If there would be something going up [in price] there would be an early warning to the community to let them know this is coming up.”
Harnessing technology to cut imports
The UAE recently announced the launch of the second run of the FoodTech Challenge, which is aimed at early stage start-ups, and will offer a prize pool of $2 million and a high-profile platform to turn ideas into reality.
FoodTech Challenge 2.0 has a dual focus on food production and food loss and waste, which are both important issues for the country.
“The UAE has a lot of its own challenges. We have less than 5 per cent arable land,” she said.
“We are a water-scarce country and therefore growing large open fields and traditional farms made no sense.”
The country is also one of the world’s largest per capita generators of food loss and food waste, she said.
A way to address those issues is to harness the power of innovation and technology.
“This is the whole idea with FoodTech Challenge,” she said.
The competition has issued a call to early-stage start-ups and entrepreneurs to produce solutions that can address the UAE’s food security challenges.
“FoodTech Challenge is, in a way, the UAE really taking a serious step in working with the global community and finding solutions to food systems in the UAE, but also to use these systems later on when we can scale them up and see they are commercially viable, to help other countries that face challenges we have as well,” she said.
She said the UAE has worked hard to diversify its food sources in recent years, particularly during the pandemic.
“Our message to the community is our supply chains are doing well. We are keeping a close eye on them,” the minister said.
“We have the Emirates Food Security Council, which I head, where we meet regularly to ensure the supply chains are looked over.
“We are in close co-ordination with the farms the UAE owns outside the UAE. So all these mechanisms that have been put into activation through Covid have really helped us now also going through these global conflicts that are happening.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
It
Director: Andres Muschietti
Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor
Three stars
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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Race card
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
9.50pm: Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
9.25pm: Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
