Gulfood: UAE ready to navigate pandemic, minister says

Gulfood: UAE ready to navigate pandemic, minister says

The UAE's food supply chain is better prepared to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic than several other countries, thanks to its advanced preparations and national food security strategy plan, said the UAE's Minister of State for Food and Water Security.

“For many years, we have been preparing ourselves and recognised before the pandemic that over-reliance on global food supply chain makes us vulnerable, that occur beyond our control. So we developed a nationwide plan,” Mariam Almheiri said during the opening address of the Gulfood 2021 Innovation Summit, which began at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Sunday.

“As with numerous countries, Covid-19 has impacted our supply chain. But potential consequences for the UAE could have been very serious since our supplies bring more than 90 per cent of the food we eat. However, in many ways we had prepared better than others to navigate this pandemic,” she said.

“When crisis hit, our National Food Security Strategy was put to the test and we can proudly say that we have so far managed plentiful supplies at this critical time. To implement the strategy, a suitable governance model was put in place well-before pandemic.