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Two Commanding Markets at Opposite Ends of Asia
Dubai,
Transshipment Hub of the Middle East
Ship food products to Dubai, and they’ll be given the royal treatment.
They’ll arrive in the Arabian Gulf’s re-export hub and be expeditiously met by local government authorities. A given container is usually cleared by both customs and health inspectors within 2-3 hours before being transported to the importer’s warehouse.
But the careful handling doesn’t end here. From this point, the product is channeled for retail sale to consumers through an efficient wholesale/distribution system utilizing modern fleets of refrigerated and dry goods trucks.
In Dubai, importers usually function as wholesalers and distributors. Some are fully integrated and include retailing, particularly the "class A" supermarkets. For a lot of products like fresh produce and dry foods products such as rice, dried fruits and pulses, wholesalers step in and take charge of product distribution to the point of sale.
Dubai is one of the United Arab Emirates, countries where there are varied channels for retailing foods. In addition to still-nascent hypermarkets, they have a whole range of food stores, from traditional "class A" supermarkets (they do the largest volume of business) and smaller "class B" outlets, right on down to the mom-and-pop corner stores.
However, transshipment’s the real name of the game. It is conservatively estimated that half of the products shipped to Dubai are re-exported, usually overland, to neighboring Middle Eastern countries as well as by boat to regional buyers, including Iran, India, Pakistan and East Africa.
U.S. exporters who stick a toe or two in this market are pleased to find efficient product handling everywhere along the delivery chain, from the port of arrival until reaching consumers at the point of sale.
Furthermore, this is a market where U.S. food products are appreciated for their high quality.
The business climate is great, too; UAE food importers welcome opportunities to introduce more new-to-market U.S. products and are willing to work toward building long-term business commitments.
| Distribution in Singapore--A Sparkling Case in
Point High-value products, so popular with Singapore’s consumers, are readily available in Singapore’s marketplace, thanks to one of the world’s best-developed distribution systems, as well as a most conducive business culture. For most high-value products importers act as sole distributors for U.S. producers. These intermediaries clear the products through customs and distribute to their respective retail or food service customers. Of course, fresh produce is a specialized case. Because of the need to move perishable fruit and vegetables quickly to a large number of small retailers, importers move rapidly–often in a matter of hours–to distribute to their wholesalers. Distributors in turn speed the product to thousands of small fruit stalls throughout the country. If products are intended for re-export to neighboring countries (and plenty are) they may be kept for a couple of days in warehouses located in the port area for onward shipment to the other countries in the region. If your product has a long shelf life, expect it to be cleared through customs, then held in a warehouse owned or leased by the importers until a local retailer or an overseas customer submits an order. In any case, Singapore’s up-to-the-moment port facilities, terrific infrastructure and reliable delivery systems make for an exceptionally orderly logistical chain–and a smile of relief from many a harried U.S. exporter |
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