Abu Dhabi’s food and beverage (F&B) trade value increased to Dh2.65 billion ($721 million) in the first two months of 2020, thus registering a growth of 2.7 per cent compared to Dh2.58 billion ($702 million) during the same period last year.

The growth in the food and beverage trade highlights the fact that the emirate has maintained its commercial activity since the start of the year.

Abu Dhabi, and the UAE in general, occupies an advanced position in the food and beverage trade, accounting for some 18 percent of the total trade in food products in Arab countries, according to official data from the Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi (SCAD).

The F&B trade figures issued by the centre are limited to products that entered or exited the country through Abu Dhabi’s land, sea and air ports, and do not include trade deals that occurred through ports in other emirates, it stated.

The value of the F&B businesss in January and February accounted for 7.1 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s total non-oil goods trade, totalling Dh37.1 billion, while the value of the sector's trade in FY 2019  amounted to Dh15.2 billion as per SCAD data.

In detail, the centre’s figures show an increase in the emirate’s food and beverage imports to Dh1.3 billion in January and February 2020, while exports amounted to Dh1.066 billion, and re-exports to around Dh550 million, it added.-TradeArabia News Service