International Holding Company (IHC) has officially opened a new AED 200+ million facility to process, store and distribute a quarter of the seafood consumed in the UAE. Operated by IHC s subsidiary ASMAK, the new seafood facility is the largest in the Middle East and is designed to support the UAEs food security aims, providing products to millions of consumers in the UAE and the region. Coinciding with the Gulfood F&B trade exhibition, the factorys official opening on 22 February 2021 was presided over by Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security. Salah Abdalla Al Rayassi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary, Biodiversity & Marine Life Sector attended as the representative of His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the Minister of Climate Change and Environment. Saud Abu Alshawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City, and ASMAK s senior management were also in attendance. ASMAK, a leading provider of fresh and frozen seafood across the Middle East, will process an initial 40,000 tons of seafood annually through the facility, with scope to increase capacity to 60,000 tons. Annual seafood consumption in the UAE is currently approximately 270,000 tons. Enhancing the capacity of the UAE s aquaculture and fisheries sector is an important aspect of the National Food Security Strategy, especially as the UAE population consumes around 30 kg per person each year, above the global average of 20.5 kg. This is why the UAE has invested more than AED 200 million to develop hatcheries and research centers, with the aim of creating a sustainable food value chain from controlled freshwater and seawater environments. These concerted efforts in the aquaculture sector as well as the volumes of seafood provided by the fisheries sector have placed huge demands on processing capacity. ASMAK s new seafood processing facility will greatly support the current demand and also enable the UAE aquaculture sector to grow.