New vertical farm launched in Dubai Industrial City

The facility will grow fresh kale, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries and melons, and plans to supply hypermarkets, hotels and chefs across the country

Dubai cloud kitchen Kitopi becomes a unicorn after new $415m funding led by SoftBank

The deal marks one of the largest funding rounds for a Middle East technology company

Global food costs surge to decade high as drought parches crops

A United Nations gauge of world food costs climbed for a 12th straight month in May

Desert Control

Desert Control joins Dubai’s in5’s alumni network after raising Dhs85m in IPO

Desert Control is ready to launch its commercial rollout of liquid natural clay that turns deserts into fertile land

Saudi bottled water company is said to join list of IPO hopefuls

The IPO could add to a string of listings in Saudi Arabia

Abu Dhabi’s ADQ is said to eye stake in top Egyptian dairy firm

Deliberations are in the early stages and there’s no certainty ADQ will proceed with any transaction

Revealed: 5 cafés in Dubai that offer more than just coffee

From yoga eateries to co-working spaces that double as cafes, these joints are not to miss when you’re craving a little more than just coffee

First Saudi tech startup that could go public picks HSBC for IPO

Jahez has also been expanding in other areas such as last-mile logistics and cloud kitchens

Saudi Arabia halts some Brazil poultry including JBS plants

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority said imports from the plants will be suspended from May 23

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed’s 100 Million Meals campaign achieves over double its target

Donations from 385,000 individuals, private and public companies and businessmen across 51 countries helped secure food parcels equivalent to 216 million meals

Dnata Blue Aqua

Dubai’s dnata partners with Blue Aqua to boost food security in Singapore

Blue Aqua will upcycle organic waste from dnata’s catering and ground handling operations into alternative insect protein for aquafeeds

Food Tech Valley Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed launches Food Tech Valley in Dubai

It seeks to triple the UAE’s food production and will include a smart food logistics hub, R&D facilities as well as agricultural technology and engineering labs

UAE’s Environment Ministry to reduce or waive fees for 50 services from May 1

The fee for the permit to use the ‘Organic’ logo for organic products (previously Dhs5,000) will be waived

Dubai e-tailer noon.com launches Ramadan sale

Customers using a Mashreq Bank card will receive 25 per cent off up to Dhs100 on all orders with a minimum value of Dhs200 until April 29

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

DMCC to launch cacao centre in Dubai

DMCC will initially incubate a select range of cacao services within its DMCC Coffee Centre in Jebel Ali starting from mid-2021

Dubai food trade

Dubai’s external food trade totalled Dhs52bn in 2020

In terms of volume, the overall trade weighed 17 million tonnes

Dubai restaurant

Dubai closes 53 food outlets in Q1 2021 due to Covid-19 infractions

The municipality conducted 13,775 inspections during the first quarter of 2021, and issued warnings to 1,133 establishments

Dubai’s ENOC Group opens two new service stations in Sharjah

There are now seven ENOC service stations in Sharjah

Sheikh Mohammed launches initiative to provide 100 million meals across 20 countries

The campaign will provide food support to the vulnerable in the Middle East, Africa and Asia

Head of UAE’s Lulu Group safe after chopper crash lands in India

No major injuries were reported

In one year a billion tons of food got wasted — mostly at home

Food waste and loss are responsible for as much as 10 per cent of global emissions

Neom, Tabuk Fish ink agreement to develop MENA’s largest fish farm

The hatchery will operate with a capacity of 70 million fingerlings

Prince Khaled named in advisory board of $15m global food tech challenge

Competition backers include Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council

Dubai’s noon.com to reduce prices up to 75% during Ramadan

The discounts are spread across 60,000 products

‘Customer behaviour has accelerated growth in online food delivery’ – CEO, KLC Virtual Restaurants

Online food delivery has grown significantly during the last several years

Your instant coffee may soon be at risk from Suez blockage

About 12 per cent of global trade goes through the Suez

Saudi Arabia’s Almarai acquires Bakemart in UAE, Bahrain

The acquisition is fully financed from Almarai’s operating cash flow

Dubai-based Kitch to expand Lebanon’s restaurant Barbar across GCC

Hybrid cloud kitchen/store front operator to offer Barbar menu at dine-in and delivery

Pure Harvest Smart Farms

UAE-based Pure Harvest Smart Farms raises $60m in new funding round

Shuaa Capital led a $50m structured sukuk for Pure Harvest co-investing with Franklin Templeton and Sancta Capital

Al Barakah Dates[2] copy

Al Barakah Dates to expand Dubai facility to make it ‘world’s largest date factory’

The facility is due for completion in early 2022