Brilliant color and outlay of Quzi, the popular Emirati rice dish with lamb overlay, will entice any food lover. And Emirati society take their meat seriously, where culturally lamb and goat meat have always carried preference over other red meats. It appears to be an anomaly, as beef consumption has remained much high on per capita basis in other developed and rich countries. Even Chinese, with enhanced prosperity, have increased their beef consumption against pork. Is UAE bucking the beef trend with around 88% non-Emirati population?
Statistics reflects changing pattern in UAE’s red meat mix in recent years. As per FAO and COMTRADE databases, net consumption of beef has maintained a steady rise at a CAGR of 4% between 2017 and 2021. And all this growth is happening in a slow economy affected by COVID pandemic. However, during the same period the consumption of lamb and goat meat has registered a negative growth. Consequently, share of beef in red meat consumption has risen from 62% in 2017 to 69% to 2021. It looks like a quite transformation is taking place over the cuisine front in UAE. We might soon witness beef as the predominant red meat in the country.
UAE is yearly net importing an average 170,000 tons of red meat from over 60-countries, among which top-5 countries hold 85% of the market share. With its strong economic foundations and open market approach, UAE will be integrating more with the globalization trends in tastes and living. And food remains one such area that attracts convergence fast. With the variation of red meat imported from highly marbled Wagyu beef to Indian Carabeef of buffaloes, the pendulum of consumer paradigm is shifting towards more sophisticated culinary tastes. With over 13,000 food service establishments in Dubai alone, we are anticipating rising demand for meat and its allied products in ensuing future.
Premium and graded red meat from western origin is already making its mark and creating quality standards for others to match. It seems like a win-win situation for both consumers and meat ventures, as former get the options and later is attaining market willing to pay for quality. A commodity is increasingly turned into lifestyle signature for many. Meanwhile citizens and residents of UAE can relax and enjoy the aroma, juiciness and tenderness of their steaks, patties, sausages, shawarmas and lamb or beef over the Quzi.