Tag: مركز القهوة

DMCC – the world’s flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise – inaugurated the ‘DMCC Coffee Centre’ 18 February 2019 , a state-of-the-art 7,500m² temperature-controlled facility, and the first of its kind in the Middle East. The Centre launched during Dubai’s Gulfood event, the world’s largest annual food and beverage trade exhibition.

From crop to cup, the Centre 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 specialised offerings for re-bagging of green coffee, sample evaluation and training.

The Centre houses a coffee quality laboratory, cupping labs and a Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Premier Training Campus, in addition to a range of commercial office space. Projected to handle up to 20,000 tonnes of green coffee bean annually – with an estimated annual trade value of around AED 367 million (USD 100 million) – the Centre is set to attract new trade flows to Dubai and boost the national economy.

A number of senior delegates including  H.E. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World; H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO 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 in Dubai, and joined a tour of the facility located adjacent to the DMCC Tea Centre in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza).

“Today represents a significant milestone, and one that places Dubai firmly at the heart of the global coffee trade. First conceptualised in 2016, it is promising to see our vision to serve the market in an entirely different way become a reality,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC.

“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. The DMCC Coffee Centre will connect international coffee traders with sophisticated logistics, and a host of value-add services, providing operational excellence to meet growing global demand. 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 Centre on the industry going forward,” he added.

Dubai’s strategic geographic location offers connectivity between the fast-growing and high-value consumer markets in the Middle East and Europe, to some of the world’s major coffee producing nations such as Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Uganda and Vietnam. Operational since November 2018, the Centre is set to become the preferred hub for speciality coffee buyers, traders, roasters and producers.

Other services offered by the DMCC Coffee Centre include: three fully outfitted cupping rooms with water to SCA standards; a coffee quality laboratory; a sample (Probat and Ikawa) and small batch (Diedrich) roasters – to assist customers in quality assessment, and shipments of roast and green coffee samples to buyers –; and two Brambati production roasters (30kg and 60kg) – which can accommodate specialty and commercial coffee roasting.

Coffee is one of the world’s most widely consumed hot beverages. The global coffee industry is worth an estimated AED 367.3 billion (USD 100 billion), with the industry in the Middle East expected to climb to AED 16.2 billion (USD 4.4 billion) by 2021, according to Euromonitor.

DMCC – the world’s flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities, trade and enterprise – has signed a strategic partnership with Boncafé Middle East, a leading manufacturer and distributor of gourmet coffee and coffee machines, to produce locally roasted coffee at DMCC’s state-of-the-art Coffee Centre. The signing, which took place in DMCC Headquarters in Almas Tower, was attended by Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC and Tony Billingham, CEO MENA and Group Executive Director of Boncafé.

Under the agreement, DMCC Coffee Centre will produce a variety of locally roasted coffee which is set to boost trade flow into the emirate of Dubai and in return will help develop Boncafé’s brand position in the larger MENA region. DMCC Coffee Centre will also produce and solely distribute a range of bespoke coffee products tailor made for Boncafé across the GCC.

The DMCC Coffee Centre offers world-class infrastructure and services and the partnership will further cement its position as a leading centre of excellence and trade producing a range of high quality coffees and blends up to par with traditional coffee markets such as Italy, the USA and Switzerland. The move serves both the global and local market by delivering fresh and cost-efficient coffee.

“DMCC is proud to partner with Boncafé, a true powerhouse in the coffee industry and the region for 18 years, to provide them with a range of bespoke services to facilitate their global trade. This collaboration underpins our strategy of providing world-class services, from roasting and quality control through to packaging and distribution, that cater to the entire coffee value chain. It also truly reflects the strong reputation the Coffee Centre has built and its ability to attract leading coffee players, in turn positioning Dubai as a global hub for specialty coffee. We thank Boncafé for choosing us as their partner and very much look forward to working alongside their teams.” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC.

The UAE is one of the most developed coffee markets in the region and the agreement is set to further enhance this position and bring added value to Dubai by boosting the import of Green coffee sourced from Africa, Latin America and Asia. Agreements as such will catapult Dubai’s GDP through the re-export of roasted coffee products into the region.

“To partner with DMCC is a natural progression for the Boncafé & Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group and this further shows the Group commitment to develop locally roasted UAE coffees. This will undoubtedly enhance our brands position throughout the whole Middle East region being now produced locally in the UAE.” said Tony Billingham, CEO MENA, Boncafé Group Executive Director.

The DMCC Coffee Centre continues to attract international businesses by connecting the fast-growing consumer markets in the Middle East and Europe to some of the world’s major coffee producing nations. The Coffee Centre supports the entire coffee industry from crop to cup by offering cost-efficient logistical support as well as warehousing, roasting and packaging services. In July 2020, DMCC announced plans to expand the Coffee and Tea Centres to triple output, increase services and boost capacity.