Stockyard's Wagyu striploin: plans to harmonise GCC customs laws could make importing such foodstuffs simpler.
Middle East customs and product labelling regulations are continuing to raise issues for importers, according to Australian meat supplier Stockyard.
David Clark, general manager of marketing for the firm — which provides high quality grain-fed beef across the region, including in the UAE through Country Hill International — explained: “Different customs clearance and product labelling requirements into the Middle East add unnecessary expense and additional workload for exporters and importers.
“Coordinating supply and demand brings up challenges when working with a perishable product with a long lead time in production,” he added.
“Increasing supply rapidly through periods of high demand is difficult — although communication right through the supply chain can greatly assist in smoothing the bumps.”
Speaking to Caterer Middle East earlier this year, Dubai Municipality’s Food Control Department director, Khalid Mohammed Sharif Al-Awadhi, revealed the region was working towards unifying import and export regulations.
“It’s our goal to harmonise food safety and import and export systems for the GCC, with one set of procedures and regulations,” he revealed.
“If we can do that, and all the systems in the GCC are one, things will run a great deal more smoothly.”
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