DMCC set to launch cacao centre in Dubai
Bin Sulayem hopes to transform Dubai into international trade hub for superfood
Buoyed by the success of its tea and coffee centres, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) is set to launch a dedicated centre for the mother of all superfoods — cacao.
Ahmad Bin Sulayem, executive chairman and CEO of DMCC, spilled the beans on their new venture in an exclusive interview with Gulf News. “We will incubate a select range of cacao services at our coffee centre in Jebel Ali from midApril. We hope to eventually transform the emirate into an international trade hub for the much-sought after superfood,” Bin Sulayem said.
Cacao is chocolate in its raw and purest form, derived from cacao beans that come from the pods of the Theobroma cacao fruit tree, primarily grown in countries like Indonesia, Nigeria, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia and the Ivory Coast.
Bin Sulayem said they have reached out to top cacao industry players across West Africa and South America in recent weeks to understand the dynamics of the market and thrash out a plan on how Dubai could play a central role in supporting the sustainable growth of cacao. “We are also in touch with the US-based Blue Stripes Urban Cacao in the US and some other companies engaged in cacao business,” he said.
Bin Sulayem said he is optimistic about the new business and would soon launch a webinar series focused on the superfood. “Few thought that DMCC Tea and Coffee Centres would reach the levels of trade we see today. By utilising our expertise and experience, we see cacao and its high-growth potential as a logical next step,” he said.
Oded Brenner of Max Brenner chocolate fame, who launched Blue Stripes Urban Cacao, said traditional chocolate production wastes 70 per cent of the cacao fruit. “But now global demand for cacao shell, fruit and beans is rising. At Blue Stripes for instance, we make cacao bread from the shell flour, cacao water from the food,” said Brenner, often described as the modernday Willy Wonka.