Global Food Week Highlights the UAE’s Dairy Demand and Innovation
The UAE’s dairy market was valued at about $2.53bn in 2025 and is expected to reach $3.28bn by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. The research firm puts annual growth at roughly 4.45% between 2026 and 2031, linking it to the country’s expatriate population and the National Food Security Strategy 2051, which supports local production. Dubai represents about 40% of the market.
Milk is the largest category, accounting for about 40% of sales, while cheese ranks second. Cheese demand is supported by food-service businesses and interest in artisanal varieties. Yoghurt is also expected to expand, alongside demand for products adapted to the UAE’s expatriate communities and growing consumer awareness of health.
Danish companies presented their products through the Danish Dairy Board. Lars Witt Jensen, its head of export marketing, said the UAE was an established market rather than a new destination for Danish dairy. Lurpak has been sold in the region for more than 50 years, while Puck is also widely recognised. Jensen said consumers associate Danish dairy with consistent quality and are prepared to pay for it. He added that Danish producers were addressing sustainability in the UAE.
Turkish brand Pınar combines imports with local production at factories in Abu Dhabi and Turkey. Özge Çakar Osken, a senior brand manager, said the company’s labneh was the leading brand in the UAE and Kuwait. She described its version as creamier and milder than the style familiar in many Arab households, suitable for breakfast, snacks, dips and sandwiches. Pınar also makes cream cheese and cheddar without vegetable oil or preservatives.
Amul, which entered the UAE in 1975, now sells more than 200 products through several distributors. Its portfolio includes dairy products as well as ice cream, chocolate, pulses, rice, honey, bakery goods and frozen snacks. Country manager Gautam Bhatt said the company had become a food business rather than only a dairy company. Amul’s cheese uses plant-derived rennet and is marketed as vegetarian cheese; its ghee is used in biryani and other rice dishes. Bhatt said the company had absorbed higher freight costs to keep prices stable.
Hidmi, founded in Jerusalem in 1950, displayed Nabulsi cheese, Mughli cheese, labneh, jameed, shanklish, halloumi and feta. Nabulsi is a brined white cheese used in knafeh and commonly eaten at breakfast, while jameed is dried yoghurt used in mansaf. The company said the name Nabulsi referred to Nablus and described the product as part of Palestinian heritage. Muneer Al Hidmi said the business wanted to reach Arab and non-Arab communities abroad and reported demand from visitors at the show.
Italian Gate, an Abu Dhabi start-up founded about two years ago by a Rome-born restaurateur, brought mozzarella and burrata supplied by Montrona. Business development manager Valeria Lepore said the cheeses were made by hand each night by a 75-person team rather than on an industrial production line. Al Ain Farms, meanwhile, is working with partners in the UAE, Europe and China on new camel-milk markets, including research with Khalifa University and manufacturing in Germany. Its camel milk was served as a matcha drink. Group chief executive Hassan Safi said the company wanted camel milk to reach markets beyond the UAE. The minister of state for foreign trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, cited the Camelait brand as an example of Emirati companies combining heritage with innovation.
