Poultry meat consumption in the UAE in 2017-2021 was in the range of 440-486 thousand tons. In 2021, the volume of consumption amounted to 471.8 thousand tons, which is 5.2% more than in 2020.
The increase in consumption is primarily due to the lifting of restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the medium term, the indicator will also increase due to the growth of the UAE economy and the country's population. The average per capita consumption of poultry meat in the country in 2021 was 49.4 kg.
In 2021, the largest share in the structure of poultry meat consumption in the UAE accounted for the processing sector — 36.9% of total sales. The share of retail trade amounted to 31.7% of consumption (149.4 thousand tons). The retail sector is the fastest growing poultry meat sales channel in the UAE, the volume of which increased by an average of 5.9% annually in 2017-2021. The catering sector in 2021 accounted for 31.4% of poultry meat consumption in the country (148.3 thousand tons).
In 2022, turkey consumption in the country amounted to 4.2 thousand tons, which is 12.9% more than in 2021. Compared to 2017, the indicators have increased significantly, demonstrating an average annual growth rate of 13.2% for 2017-2022.
The average per capita consumption of turkey in the UAE in 2022 amounted to 0.42 kg per year, which is 9.1% more than in 2021. Despite the relatively low figures, there is a tendency in the country to increase the popularity of this type of meat among consumers. Thus, for 2017-2022, the average annual growth rate of per capita consumption was 11.8%.
A key player in the UAE poultry market is the local company Al Kabeer Foods, which accounted for 29.1% of the market in 2022. The second place was taken by the local importer Al Islami Foods with a share of 15.8%, the third place with a share of 12.0% in the Brazilian conglomerate BRF.
UAE turkey imports In 2022, UAE turkey imports amounted to 4.4 thousand tons for 14.3 million US dollars. In 2022, there was a decrease in the volume of purchases relative to 2021: by 5.2% (-244.5 tons) and by 14.8% (-2.5 million US dollars) in value. During 2017-2022, turkey imports increased on average annually by 12.3% by weight and by 11.6% by value.
The main share in the structure of UAE turkey imports in 2022 was made up of parts of turkey carcasses and offal, which in 2022 accounted for 90.6% (4.0 thousand tons) of imports and 91.8% (13.1 million US dollars) in value.
Most of the meat in the UAE was delivered frozen — 98.2% (4.3 thousand tons) of imports by weight and 97.5% (13.9 million US dollars) by value. Fresh or chilled turkey meat was almost not imported into the country. The main volumes of frozen meat came from Turkey, the USA and Russia, while fresh and chilled meat was mainly imported from the USA and New Zealand.
In the structure of turkey imports of the UAE in 2022, the main supplier countries were Turkey (51.1% of imports) and Russia (35.9%). The top 5 exporting countries also included Brazil (2.4%), the USA (2.3%) and Canada (2.3%).
In terms of value, the largest suppliers in the UAE turkey import have changed places: Russia took the first place (46.8%). The second place was taken by Turkey, which shipped products worth 5.8 million US dollars (40.3%).
In 2022, the average import price of turkey in the UAE decreased by 10.0% to $3,231. The most expensive products were supplied from New Zealand (97.8% higher than the average import price) and the Netherlands (47.2% higher). The lowest prices were for products from Portugal (63.0% lower than the average import price) and Canada (58.4% lower). Russian products were sold at a price of $4,212 per ton, which is 30.4% higher than the average import price in 2022.
