DMCC Opens Climate-Controlled Global Hub for Coffee
From left wearing Kanduras; H.E. Salem Rashid Al Owais, Ambassador of the UAE to Columbia, H.E. Hamad Buamim, president and c.e.o. Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, H.E Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and c.e.o. of DP World, Essa Abdulla Al Ghurair, chairman EGI and general manager of Al Ghurair Resources, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman, DMCC, and Feryal Ahmadi, c.o.o, DMCC
By Dan Bolton
In February DMCC inaugurated the Middle East’s first large-capacity coffee center capable of warehousing and processing 20,000 metric tons of green coffee shipments valued at more than $100 million (AED367 million).
“Until now, the region simply did not have the capacity, equipment, or expertise to facilitate global coffee trade on this scale, and we look forward to seeing the impact of our Center on the industry going forward,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman, DMCC.
The state-of-the-art 7,500m² temperature-controlled facility offers cost-effective logistical support and services that connect producers to buyers. Core services include warehousing, logistics, green coffee cleaning, contract roasting, and packing, as well as more specialized offerings for re-bagging of green coffee, sample evaluation, and training.
The center is equipped with a coffee quality laboratory, cupping labs, and a Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Premier Training Campus, in addition to a range of commercial office space. The laboratory has sample roasters from Probat and Ikawa and small batch (Diedrich) roasters – to assist customers in quality assessment, and shipments of roast and green coffee samples to buyers. The main roasting facility has two Brambati production roasters (30kg and 60kg) to accommodate specialty and commercial coffee roasting.
During opening ceremonies during Dubai’s Gulfood exhibition, Bin Sulayem called the center “a significant milestone, and one that places Dubai firmly at the heart of the global coffee trade. Dubai is uniquely positioned to serve the significant emerging markets trade corridor of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, and well connected to the coffee-producing regions of Africa, China, India, Latin America, and South East Asia.
“First conceptualized in 2016, it is promising to see our vision to serve the market in an entirely different way become a reality,” said Bin Sulayem. The center began operating in November.
A number of senior delegates including H.E. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and c.e.o. of DP World; H.E. Hamad Buamim, president and c.e.o. Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry; H.E. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, director of Dubai Customs; H.E. Salem Rashid Al Owais, Ambassador of the UAE to Columbia; H.E. Eduardo Fonseca, Ambassador of Panama to the UAE; and H.E. Ridwan Hassan, Consul General of Indonesia to the UAE attended the official launch and later toured the facility located adjacent to the DMCC Tea Center in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).
Dubai modeled its coffee venture on the DMCC Tea Center, which has grown to become the largest tea re-exporter in the world. The global coffee industry is worth an estimated $100 billion and the Middle East is expected to grow its share to $4.4 billion by 2021, according to Euromonitor International.