ABU DHABI // Children could be taught the benefits of organic food as part of a healthy-eating programme that will also raise the profile of the country's organics industry.
Organic food has yet to be widely accepted in the UAE because of the small number of products on supermarket shelves, and their relatively high prices.
And the UAE's several organic restaurants, cafes and supermarkets that sell the food are importing it, saying they have been frustrated by a lack of reliable local suppliers.
Salaah Abdullah, the head of the organic agriculture unit at the Ministry of Environment and Water, said it wanted to work with other ministries and officials to raise awareness of organic food.
"We want to have a campaign for the society to show them the benefits of organic food, how healthy it is for the next generation and how harmful some chemicals can be," Mr Abdullah said. He also suggested educating pupils and providing organic options in school lunches. "It's like any other product. You need to give consumers a choice."
The programme was announced ahead of next month's food and hospitality exhibition Gulfood in Dubai, which will promote local organic produce.
The UAE has eight organic farms, and seven more being developed. Al Ain has 1,300 hectares of organic farmland, the largest dedicated area in the country. The first farm certified was in Sharjah in 2005, producing organic vegetables and dates.
Mr Abdullah said the ministry wanted organic-food retailers, cafes and restaurants to promote locally grown food: "It would make us feel comfortable if they use local products."
People in the food industry said they would be pleased to sell locally grown food, but they have been forced to import from countries such as the USA, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia because of supply problems.
Nils el Accad, the owner of the Dubai-based Organic Foods and Cafe, said he imported his products. "There is no regular supply of produce in the UAE," Mr el Accad said. "I have no real alternative as of yet."
Mr el Accad said he had tried contacting Abu Dhabi Organics, the first certified private farm in the UAE, but was unable to make contact. The farm's website is still not operating.
Eat Smart, an organic market and cafe was opened more than a month ago in Abu Dhabi. Ryan Vanrooyen, the group general manager of Elite Restaurant Management Company, which runs Eat Smart, said: "Many people are conscious about what they eat and they are becoming aware with the concept of organic all over the world."
Mr Vanrooyen said Organic Foods and Cafe supplied Eat Smart with many of its products.
The ministry has set the target of 3,000 hectares of agricultural land dedicated to organic farming, while the Ministry of Health advocates organic food as a part of a healthy diet.
Local or imported, however, organic produce is still expensive, with some products costing five times the price of non-organic food.
"It's a trade-off," said Hiba Salah, 22, a national who recently switched to buying organic products. "It's price versus health."
Ms Salah's family eats organic meat and chicken, which can cost more than double the regular price.
"We have no choice. We've got kids in the house. It's the healthy option because there are no chemicals," she said.
Mr Abdullah acknowledged the high cost of organic food. "Society is accepting organic food but not accepting the price," he said. "I hope it is available all year and at a reasonable price to preserve the common health."
Iman al Tahan, 43, originally from Iraq, said she bought organic food when it was affordable, "but the prices skyrocketed so I stopped buying. I am willing to buy organic only if it's available at a reasonable price."
Nizar Mouhanna, 39, said paying extra for organics did not bother him. "I've been eating organic food for 2½ years now," he said. "It's part of a macrobiotic programme I follow and I feel much better."
Rania al Halawani, a dietician at the MedGate centre in Dubai, said the benefits of organic food have not been proven, but any fresh food is better than processed or junk food.
"There is still a big conflict over whether it really makes a difference or not," Mrs al Halawani said. "It has not been proven. As a dietician, I always encourage people to eat fresh foods rather than processed foods, but there is no conclusion about organic."
The most popular organic product in the UAE is baby food, according to organisers of the Gulfood exhibition, which will run at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from Feb 23 to Feb 26.
* The National, with additional reporting by Mitya Underwood
Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
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The White Lotus: Season three
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m
Winner: AF Mozhell, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
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3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Eshaar, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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9.30pm: Forever Young
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Results
2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
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4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner Skygazer, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.30pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 1,700m
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5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
Winner RB Grynade, Bernardo Pinheiro, Eric Lemartinel.
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Rating:*****
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TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
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Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
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Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
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Sergio Perez (Force India)
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Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
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Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
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Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
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AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
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