In the period from 2008, the market grew at 5.5 per cent CARG. 85 per cent of product consumed is imported.
Horeca is the dominant channel in the UAE and accounts for 56 per cent of sales followed by organised retail at 35 per cent and neighbourhood butchers at nine per cent.
Domestic product stood at 16,000 tonnes in 2013, with imports at 92,800 tonnes.
Of this, chilled was 33,700 tonnes, a growth of 11 per cent CARG since 2008, and frozen imports were just under 60,000 tonnes and growing at a slower rate of 2.6 per cent CARG. Chilled product accounts for 66 per cent of organised retail sales.
India, Brazil, Pakistan Australia and the USA are the key suppliers.
India dominates in frozen beef with a 69 per cent market share, while Pakistan is the market leader in chilled with a 36 per cent share.
The key drivers in the market are improving economic conditions since 2009, population growth of 6.6 per cent per annum, a booming tourism industry, and a growing modern retail sector.
