Announcement of significant expansion of DMCC’s coffee trading, storage and packing facilities comes just 18-months after the centre was inaugurated in February 2019
Members of the the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), tour the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Coffee Centre in July 2020 | Photo: DMCC
Launched in early 2019 at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) the 7,500m
2 Coffee Centre was projected to handle up to 20,000 tons of coffee beans annually with a trade value of up to $100m. It currently offers services for green bean storage, processing, roasting and packing as well as a SCA-certified training campus delivering educational courses in grading, roasting and barista training.
The ‘significant’ expansion of the Coffee Centre comes in response to increasing demand for coffee in the Middle East, will support
Dubai’s burgeoning specialty coffee shop segment and forms part of the
UAE’s non-oil economy diversification, according to the state-run organisation.
“DMCC is fast becoming the global hub for the tea and coffee industry. Our ambitious plans to triple our capacity in the near future are strategically anchored in Dubai’s drive and ability to facilitate world trade,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of the DMCC.
By expanding its coffee trading, storage, training and packing facilities, the DMCC’s Coffee Centre will be hoping to cement the UAE’s position as a major Middle Eastern hub for coffee trading, expertise and access to international markets. The UAE has become an important hub for Middle Eastern coffee businesses, with Dubai hosting some of the region's first western branded coffee chains, such as Dunkin’, Costa Coffee and Starbucks in the late-1990s.
Since then, appetite for aspirational hospitality concepts in the UAE has increased significantly, with World Coffee Portal forecasting the nation will exceed 1,760 branded café outlets by 2023.