DUBAI, 10th February, 2015 (WAM) -- Dubai's foreign trade in foodstuffs recorded a remarkable 14 percent surge in the first nine months of 2014, further promoting the emirate's status as a global hub for foodstuff trading in the region. The sector's escalating growth is due to Dubai's ongoing economic and demographic development.

The trend is also driven by a favourable business environment with exceptional logistic services and facilitations, time and cost saving customs procedures, as well as efficient quality control measures on all Dubai's traded food commodities.

Figures released by Dubai Customs in parallel with Gulfood 2015, a regional exhibition hosted in Dubai from February 8th - 12th, report a 14 percent increase in Dubai's foodstuff trading from January-September 2014, hitting a threshold of Dh66 billion compared to Dh58.2 during the same period in 2013.

This upswing was expressed in imports rising from Dh37.6 billion to Dh43 billion, re-exports from Dh11 billion to Dh13 billion, and exports from Dh9.6 billion to Dh10 billion.

"Dubai Customs looks forward to reinforcing Dubai's foothold on the global landscape of foodstuffs trading industry, and has effectively contributed to the growth of food business by providing quality customs facilities for this sector, and ensuring speedy customs clearance of all its shipments, in order to cater to the food needs of the community without unnecessary delays," said Ahmed Abdul Salam Kazim, Strategy and Corporate Excellence Director at Dubai Customs.

Kazim further affirmed Dubai Customs' commitment to developing innovative services to meet the demands of a growing local foodstuff sector in a way that ensures easy and timely access of alimentary supplies to local consumers and surrounding markets as per the highest health and safety standards.