The Dubai Media Office has pushed back against a social media campaign claiming goods made at the Jebel Ali Free Zone are inferior, calling the allegations false in a series of tweets.
For communities and families across the region, the fight was over something concrete: the reputation of food and other products that flow out of the free zone, known as Jafza. The media office said Jafza is home to 7,500 companies from around the world, including 529 food manufacturers, and that more than 130 countries consume what its factories make.
The campaign, officials said, was driven by social media users and influencers from countries hostile to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, an attempt to sow friction in their trade ties. The Dubai Media Office clarified that those behind it were based outside Saudi Arabia.
The office insisted the products comply with specifications laid down by Esma, the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, an accredited body that issues national standards. Esma said in its own statement that locally made and imported goods sold in the UAE comply with national and GCC standards and fall under the Emirates Quality Mark.
The wider picture is one of scale. The UAE exports to 198 countries and accounts for 26 per cent of the region’s non-oil trade, ranking as its fourth-largest exporter. Dubai’s foreign trade touched Dh 1.3 trillion in 2018.
The office also dismissed claims tied to Code 629, saying the code points to the headquarters of the company that issued it rather than proving where a product was made.
Sources
- Dubai slams false claims against Jafza products | Khaleej Times
- UAE blasts smear campaign against Emirati products, denies allegations on products being exported from Jebel Ali Free Zone
