AMMAN, JORDAN // Governments in the Gulf region need to start stocking up on wheat, an expert told the Arab Food Industries & Franchising Forum yesterday.
Jack Khayat, a regional office manager for the Arab Federation for Food Industries, said the wheat also needs to be of better quality, despite shortages that have forced up food prices and triggered unrest across the region.
Wheat is a key ingredient in making bread and other foods. It is particularly important for middle- and low-income countries in the Middle East and North Africa, where people have limited access to meat and fish.
Hunger remains an important issue in the region, the only one where the number of undernourished people has risen over the last decade.
In 2008, Egypt suffered bread riots brought on by wheat grain shortages and high inflation. Recent protests across North Africa have found a rallying cry in the lack of affordable food.
Last spring, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition said people in the UAE often suffer concurrently from obesity and undernourishment from a lack of nutrients.
Around 35 per cent of children in the UAE between six and 22 months of age are anaemic, which can be caused by vitamin deficiency, according to a Government report released at the same time.
According to scientists, whole grain offers significant health benefits, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
It contains vitamin B, protein and minerals. However, the industrial process to mill flour, which is made from wheat, removes many of these benefits.
In addition, Mr Khayat urged officials to increase their stockpiles of wheat to at least a year's worth. That would allow countries to soften price jumps, restocking only when prices are low, he said.
Regional stockpiles would also protect governments from political pressure applied by exporting countries, he added. More than half the region's food is imported.
mdetrie@thenational.ae
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5