Food Security and Supply Chain Resilience in the Gulf Region

In this episode of Fresh FoodCast, we explore how geopolitical tensions, shifting trade dynamics, and supply chain disruptions are accelerating the need for more resilient food systems.

Together with Nienke Gelderloos, Agricultural Advisor UAE, we discuss the balance between imports and local production, and the growing role of Controlled Environment Agriculture in strengthening food security. From innovation and infrastructure to policy and partnerships, this conversation highlights how governments, businesses, and knowledge institutions can collaborate to future-proof the food value chain.

Discussed topics can be found on www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl and www.rvo.nl

The Fresh Foodcast explores the future of food security and sustainable agriculture in the Gulf region. Hosted by Giovanni Angiolini, Director Middle East and Africa at Dutch Greenhouse Delta, with insights from Dutch and regional experts, innovators, and policymakers. Brought to you by Dutch Greenhouse Delta and the Embassy and Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UAE and the Netherlands Agricultural Network in the GCC, working together to build future-proof food systems.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Hi there, welcome at episode 5 of the Fresh Foodcast, a production of the Agricultural Network team in the GTC, Dutch Greenhouse Delta, and commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency as part of the Partners for International Business Program to promote Dutch AgriTech solutions in the Gulf region. In this episode, we focused on the risks of food security in the Gulf region at a time when geopolitical tensions are directly affecting supply chains. The recent conflict involving Iran and the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz have exposed how dependent the region remains on global trade flows. Shipping through this critical corridor has been severely reduced, with only a fraction of normal vessel traffic moving through the strait and many shipments delayed or rerouted. This is not only an energy issue. The disruption is affecting food imports, fertilizer supply, and overall logistics, creating inflationary pressure and increasing the risk of shortages in both staple and perishable products. Today we explore three questions. What is the right balance between imports and local production in the Gulf, including the role of controlled environment agriculture? How vulnerable are fresh food supply chains in reality, and how can different players across the value chain work together to strengthen resilience? I'm joined by my co-host Ninka Geldelos, agriculture advisor for the Netherlands in the UAE, who recently published an article on the impact of the current conflict on food systems in the GCC. Hi Ninka. Hey Giovanni. Tell me more about this article. Please elaborate. Where is it published?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

It's on agroberichtenbuiten.nl. And we will put it in the link.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Yes, in the captions of this uh podcast. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Exactly. So you can see that actually the impact is coming in a few waves. As soon as the war erupted, everyone was um wondering if they could still get uh their groceries from the supermarket. I must say um all the stores were pretty full and they were nicely replenished. It was in the middle of Ramadan, so supermarkets had prepared also for having extra stocks. And it was also still the growing season in the GCC. So it was winter, so all the crops were coming from the land. It only accounts for like 10 to 15 percent of the yearly output. Um, but in that season it's quite significant from what you see in the shelves, and then trouble came up with containers, and that was not small because the uh ports in the Gulf are the major um uh hubs for the GCC. So they're really through the Strait of Hormuz, all of these hubs are being reached. So as soon as the Strait of Hormuz closed, uh these containers had to be rerouted. Initially, a lot of containers were declared end of voyage in other destinations. So people got messages that they were either in India, in Sri Lanka, and I don't know where, but not where they wanted to have them. So they had to find some uh solutions with that, and a massive rerouting started to take place. So all the containers that were initially sent to the Gulf now had to go to either the Indian Ocean ports or the Red Sea ports. So Jeddah, for instance, or to Muscat, Sohar, Fujiram. Well, that's just a few. Um, but the capacity of these ports are much smaller than the uh total capacity of the ports in the Gulf. So they had to come up with a gazillion new solutions. And I must say they did really well. The authorities stepped in and uh they were really yeah um all hands-on and working together to get things sorted.

SPEAKER_04 4:53

Sorry to interrupt you, Daninka. You said like the authorities did really well, you know, they they responded uh rapidly, etc. And they all work together well. Who do you mean with they? Is it then the public and private sector together, or is it the entire value chain? Who you refer to?

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Both actually. So we saw that there were a lot of uh public sector initiatives to smoothen all of the pain points uh that the private sector indicated. And we also see in the private sector that a lot of the um added costs, for instance, or the issues with the timings, a lot of the parties were uh sharing the burden. And um, I don't think I've seen that happening on such a massive scale. Um, it was really a matter of, yeah, we're all in this together, and we will share what has to be done in order to feed people and to keep the shelves full. Um, so I think it was quite remarkable to see actually. Um, so that was the day. Um, yeah, and with this rerouting, the capacity is an issue. So this is actually what we saw a lot with um the reefer containers as well. So they needed to be uh loaded to trucks that have gensets uh in order to keep the reefers cool. Um there was not a good balance between trucks with and without gensets. So um there were queues of like sometimes 20 kilometers of empty trucks that were waiting to be loaded and then to transport the um containers to the other side of the country or outside of the country. Even special tier um uh arrangements were set up. Um, of course, Kuwait and uh Bahrain and Qatar were no longer reachable, so that could only be done uh by road. Often they had to send the containers for a thousand kilometers or more over the road. So this is all massive change in the logistics, and also it adds to the freight cost. Uh the trucks are a bottleneck, um, they're getting more expensive. At the same time, the energy prices went up, uh, so also the prices for transportation are going up, and we will see that reflected in food prices as well. And um also the Gulf is an important exporter of ingredients for fertilizer. Um, about one-third of the fertilizer and the fertilizer ingredients in the world is coming from the Gulf. So this is a massive impact. As it's also spring and it's a season for a lot of um farmers, for instance, in Africa and in North America and Europe, to add some fertilizer to their crops to have the harvest that they expect. And if it's too expensive or simply not available, we will see later on that there is another wave of impact where the harvests are smaller than expected, um, and some will really get in trouble. And that's especially for Africa a major concern. So uh, this is what I've been addressing in this article, and I think this is in a nutshell also what we still see happening, and it's across the boards that we see with companies that we've been speaking to that this is also affecting them.

SPEAKER_04 8:21

Okay, Nienke, thank you for that. So, to complement this discussion, uh you and I both reached out to stakeholders across the value chain, from international traders to local retailers, farmers, policymakers, etc., some of them were willing to uh respond to us on air. Um, starting with the MEDE Group, a Dutch fresh produce, dairy, and logistics company that supplies cruise lines, uh, hotels, restaurants, wholesalers, and retailers worldwide. And my first thought was okay, with the hospitality sector dramatically slowing down now, uh, they must face some issues. Well, headquartered in the Dutch city of Barendrecht, this company uh operates across key European ports through Hubs in the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, offering sourcing, quality control, and international distribution services. And now they are even planning to expand to the Middle East for quite some time already. And I wanted to talk to someone of MADER and who that was.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Uh, to introduce myself, I'm Hans Burkwerf. I'm uh export CEO of the MADER group, um, yeah, responsible for Beef Fresh Produce, who is exporting to 40 different countries throughout the world, mainly focusing on the Middle East. It's our biggest market. Um, it's been a hectical time, as you know. Um, yeah, especially in the beginning, we had to get uh a lot of uh shipments back from the airport and uh sell it on the open market here. After that, yeah, we saw that prices of the air freight went double, triple, even to some countries, uh, seven times higher as it was. This is the main issue uh to the Gulf countries now. Prices are very, very expensive. Some countries are even not getting any air freight, like Kuwait and Bahrain. We had some big trouble getting uh shipments in. We did shipments via Oman, we did shipments via Saudi Arabia to still supply them. But yeah, as you could imagine, yeah, uh it took a long time to get it there, and quality wasn't the best anymore. So now it's going slightly back to normal to a lot of countries. Dubai is doing good, uh, Saudi has been good for uh the whole period, doing even more than before because they are shipping it to other countries as well because they are more safe. Um, what you also see is that uh they are trying to get sourcing from Jordan, from Egypt, from Syria, even. But yeah, they cannot even do the volumes that they're asking for. Um so it will take some time to get everything back in line. As you see now, tourism is gone, business meetings are gone, so uh the demand is is quite low. And we're hoping that demand will pick up after summertime. Now it's becoming too hot anyhow, so we expect this coming period to be slow in volume. Uh hoping that the peace is coming soon so that after the summer things can can go back to normal. Normal as in air freight business will uh continue, and we think that the container business will take a while, meaning that we can supply the GCC countries via air freight that they normally get by container. Um, the cruise ships from Dubai have all been cancelled because of the the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. So this will take a while to pick up again. Um, yeah, for the rest, we have to see what's uh what will go on when the oil prices will go down and we can hopefully go back to a normal uh way of working again.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

This is the fresh food cast.

SPEAKER_04 12:26

So Ninka, we just heard Hans, this really aligns with your report, correct?

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Yes, it does. Actually, um, it's interesting to see that we see things from the region shifting more than before. Um, in supermarkets, we see produce from the GCC countries, which was uh quite rare before and now is more common. Uh, we see that um producers who had um premium products that were sold in Horeca before now moved to supermarkets and to retail for at-home consumption.

SPEAKER_04 12:59

But for similar similar kinds of prices then, or um do you see also slight changes in in these premium product uh price ranges?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

I'm not sure how to compare those, as uh of course they were offered through a different channel before, so uh there is no full visibility on on their price range of before and now in the in another channel. So I'm not sure how to compare those. Um, yeah, we do see a big change to at-home consumption, and uh some restaurants have to close down because there is hardly any tourism at the moment, and also all conferences and exhibitions are being postponed till later in the year. Uh, and inshallah, that will happen then. Um yeah, some goods are actually extra challenging, and I haven't mentioned those in the report, and that's something that surfaces now. For instance, uh products containing alcohol cannot make use of the ports of uh of Saudi, for instance. Um, but also in other businesses uh with, for instance, uh flammable goods like perfumes, uh, they cannot get the raw materials and they can also not ship out their finished materials. So it is impacting everyone. And um, yeah, it's I think time will only tell how this is gonna go.

SPEAKER_04 14:12

So not affecting only the the food chain, uh of course, uh, but also other um uh uh industries like the FMCG. Um going back to the food chain, you say there's more regional products in in the supermarkets at the moment. Does that also mean there's more pressure on the farmers?

SPEAKER_00 14:30

In many aspects, yes. And some see an opportunity and have the means to actually uh capture that opportunity. So, for instance, uh we see uh an uptick in poultry production in uh in KSA. At the same time, we hear from uh quite a few um more horticultural related farmers that it's challenging in these periods to uh do anything extra, um, especially when they're supplying to uh to the luxury uh restaurant business. Um, business is really slow for them now. They're impacted by the energy prices, uh, there's deferred payments. Um, so they are struggling, and it's harder for many of them to actually uh do more right now or to expand.

SPEAKER_04 15:16

Recently you also spoke to Jan Prince, he's the head grower of Pure Harvest Smart Farms here in the United Arab Emirates. And you asked him what role can local controlled environment agriculture realistically play in strengthening food security in the Gulf under current geopolitical conditions.

SPEAKER_07 15:32

I believe that local production, local for local, can contribute to food security, especially under the existing conditions, whether it is geopolitical unrest in the region, but we saw it also in COVID. Of course, the first priority is to have the stable foods available, like potatoes, rice, and wheat, and to name a few. Now that the UAE government is very proactive and has the capacity to keep stocks on hand for the long term, and that is initially not the biggest concern. But in order to maintain a healthy diet, uh even under these circumstances, um, you need also fruit and vegetables. And since these products are very perishable, the only way to supply these products to the market under these difficult circumstances is local production. And your harvest is is able to produce fruit and vegetables year-round, so, in that sense, it's it's contributing to a healthy diet during the most difficult circumstances.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

Thank you, Jan, for that answer. And indeed, that's what we see. Every time that the logistics are disrupted, the food security strategy is being challenged. Can you tell us a bit more about the main constraints that you see to scale local production at pace? Does it have to do with uh restraints in cost or energy or technology, water, or the market structure?

SPEAKER_07 16:50

I believe there are two major challenges to scale up local production of fruit and vegetables. One is capital, and the second one is uh market. Other challenges like water and electricity, there are technical solutions for that, but again, that also requires capital. So it's a very capital-intensive sector to produce year-around in the in the desert here in the UAE. And there are no good financial instruments available in order to support that, like we see, for example, in Saudi with the Agricultural Development Fund, or for example, with the Arabobank in the Netherlands. So capital is expensive and the sector is uh very capital intensive. Um, heiter greenhouses to produce year-around in the Middle East are the most expensive greenhouses in the world, I believe. Um so, in order to make these companies sustainable, and that means profit, um, there should be some kind of market protection. If the government wants to have local production under the most difficult circumstances and supply chains are disturbed or there are other challenges, then that is possible, but that should be somehow protected against cheap imports. Otherwise, the market is limited to a premium market, which is relatively small, and high-tech greenhouses will not be able to produce uh commodities like tomatoes and cucumbers for the lower segment in the market if they are not protected against cheap imports. So that is what I see as the two most uh biggest challenges.

SPEAKER_04 18:22

Ninka, listening to Jan, do I need to consider this as a warning? Uh or or how do I have to see this?

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Good question. Um because we do hear this feedback. Also, before we had the crisis, we heard this feedback uh on country of origin protection and on market protection for local producers and support for local farmers. Um, so it is something of all ages, actually. And um, I have to agree with Jan that there are not no financial instruments available like elsewhere.

SPEAKER_04 18:56

Okay, Ninka, we spoke to Jan as farmer. We will also speak to the supply chain of farmers later. Um, but now let's talk about the off-taker, the retail sector. You recently spoke to Spinnies, correct?

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Indeed, I spoke to Spinnies, and Spinnies is a local supermarket chain focusing on the premium segment. I have uh interviewed Warwick Goert, and he's a general manager of marketing and e-commerce. I've asked Warwick about his current experience with the most pressure in the fresh supply chain. So is it in international logistics, in cold chain reliability, forecasting, or maybe last mile delivery?

SPEAKER_05 19:34

Our fresh supply chain is a really, really important part of our business because over 65% of all the food that we sell in our stores is fresh. A lot of that is sourced from overseas and then sold directly into our stores, or is brought from overseas and then goes into our manufacturing for further adding value. Clearly, working in the UAE and across the Middle East means that temperatures throughout the year fluctuate dramatically and do get to very extreme levels. And so the cold chain reliability is something of a challenge for us in the summer months. Thankfully, this is obviously a regular occurrence. The same thing happens every year. So we have got very good at managing to uh to control it as best as possible, but it can still cause us some challenges at some times.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Have recent geopolitical disruptions changed how you balance local sourcing versus imports in your assortments?

SPEAKER_05 20:25

The recent disruptions to our supply chain have not had a massive difference on how we've uh changed our local sourcing versus import. There were, in the very early days with the panic buying, some short-term changes, but ultimately we are a business that is serving an enormous number of nationalities from all across the world. And so everybody still wants a little bit of their home country on the stores of on the shelves of spinnies, and we make sure to keep that going for all of our customers all of the time.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

It's encouraging to hear that Spinnies continues to serve its customers effectively despite a challenging operating environment. Reaching the one billion DIM revenue milestone in the first quarter of 2026 is a notable achievement for the supermarket chain, particularly at a time when regional tensions disrupted trade routes and softened consumer activity during the months of March till May, or the disruptions seen across the region once again underscore how interconnected modern food systems are with the global shipping language, logistic networks and supply chain infrastructure. We heard Nink earlier about this. So looking ahead, one of the key areas the industry will be watching closely is the impact of constraints around the Strait of Home or which remains a critical corridor for regional trade and imports. Any prolonged disruption that can create additional pressure on transportation costs and delivery schedules and sourcing flexibility for retailers. Consumers have already started noticing some price increases across certain categories. Although these appear to be largely driven by higher logistics and procurement costs rather than underlying demand. That major retailers such as Minis seem focused on managing these pressures responsibly, balancing supply continuity with affordability wherever possible. It will certainly be interesting to see how the sector continues to adapt and maintain resilience in the month ahead. Okay, Ninke, you and I work closely together on the Partners for International Business Programme, the Dutch Public Private Initiative commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. For the listener, that's a program that focuses on controlled environment agriculture, future-proof and sustainable equitech solutions, and other innovations that can contribute to strengthen food security here across the Gulf region. Through this initiative, you and I both represent a diverse group of Dutch companies that are exploring opportunities for growth and collaboration in the Middle East. And one of these companies is Klaus von Delman, a global leader in sustainable growing media and substrate solutions. Their products provide the foundation for soilless cultivation systems for helping grow its optimizer core production while significant uh significantly reducing water consumption and improving resource efficiency. So given the increasing focus on food security, water scarcity, and resilient agricultural systems in the Gulf, we thought it would be particularly valuable to hear um Cosm Delman's perspective on the current situation. Their expertise sits right at the intersection of sustainable food production and resource management, making them well placed to share insights on both the challenges and opportunities facing the region today. Would that be a fair assessment?

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Indeed. We've asked Rani Basil uh to what extent the current disruptions are affecting global dis uh logistics, including the situation, of course, with the Strait of Hormuz, and how it affects the supply of critical inputs, such as growing media, to the Gulf region.

SPEAKER_06 23:58

At the start of the war, the impact on the global uh logistics uh in general, but specifically on the GCC was detrimental. Uh especially when we saw many of the shipping lines, they were declaring an end-of-voyage, and many of the orders that were destined for uh ports in the Arab region uh could not reach here. Uh, and we saw many of these shipments either uh being uh dispatched in India or in Khorfakan port, which was not ready uh for this huge amount of uh containers. Uh luckily the governments in the GCC took uh decisive measures to mitigate part of this problem, uh, either by creating a trade bridge or uh creating uh like corridors between the different GCC countries. This definitely helped in reducing the impact. Uh but if you can see this still has a huge impact on the GCC, considering that a huge uh part of uh of uh of this region is uh dependent on uh importations. And this is not just to food, but also importations of uh inputs, uh agricultural inputs. So we're talking about importations of fertilizers, growing media. So all of these were definitely impacted, in which many of the customers were uh or growers, they were not able to receive their orders. With the ceasefire, we can see uh things slightly improving, uh, but at the same time, we're talking about the Strait of Formuls still being closed, and this would still have a huge impact that we cannot ship uh to the Arabian Gulf when uh we're at uh a point where the season in the GCC usually starts within July or August. And many of these shipments need to be planned right now. Now, the measures that were taken by the governments in the GCC uh help mitigate part of this problem, but you also have to consider that the ports that are operating are Zedda Port or King Abdullah port in Saudi Arabia, and recently we're uh looking into Sahar port that is uh uh creating some kind of bridge uh with the UAE. Uh, this can help reduce the impact, but it's not a solution that can be adopted going forward, considering that uh you still have to truck among across these countries, and the cost of uh shipping to uh to these ports is very expensive right now due to the war risk, but also trucking uh across countries is is very expensive and uh it's time consuming. And this would still also have an impact because even shipping to these uh open ports uh it's basically impacted by uh volatile uh transit times that are less predictable, uh with huge freight costs uh that would impact uh products that are or inputs that are uh low in value and bulky, like substrates like fertilizers.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Are you seeing changes in demand or strategy from greenhouse operators in the Gulf, for example, in terms of local sourcing, stockpiling, or production planning in response to these uncertainties?

SPEAKER_06 27:32

With the current situation, we see many of the growers uh carrying some stocks that can uh take them till the beginning of the season, but at the same time, at the beginning of the season, they're already uh looking into placing new orders. And these orders will be at a very expensive price because, first of all, of the energy prices, but also because of the shipping prices. This will definitely impact going forward the prices of vegetables. Uh, but at the same time, we see many of the growers uh that are focusing only on essential growing, like growing of vegetables and moving away from uh growing of uh landscaping or ornamental plants. And this is uh going forward will definitely impact uh the plants uh in the region. At the same time, we see many of the growers learning their lesson in terms of going forward, they're looking into more stockpiling uh of stocks, especially bulky material. Uh but this also comes at a huge price of uh warehousing. But uh, going forward, they they look into this can be the essential solution to uh reduce or uh not be impacted in such wars. Uh at the same time, they are looking into forward planning. So with uh having the logistics uh and the transit times less predictable, they are planning their orders way ahead of time. Um and at the same time, we can see many uh looking into uh local alternative solutions. So many of the growers can look into mixing with local uh material, uh, especially when we're talking about uh growing media for propagation. But considering that in the GCC the raw material possibilities are limited, they would still need a big part of uh of their growing media to be imported uh from Europe. So going forward, they can reduce their cost by mixing local material, but at the same time they have to uh import at these high prices. As a conclusion, we can see that the governments in the region have been uh putting food security strategies for the past few years, especially after what happened uh during COVID. However, growing locally is as good as the availability of the inputs. And this has been seen uh radically right now. And going forward, governments would need to look into a supply chain uh resilience strategy, making sure that inputs are always available despite any uh any disruptions that can uh appear. Uh and also going forward, governments would have to look into uh local material that can be alternatives uh for the imported ones, and this can be done through joint ventures or uh creating uh enough know-how into these alternatives, but at the same time creating a reliable transportation system among the GCC countries and the Arab countries, and making sure there are reliable corridors that can make sure that all these uh inputs and material can be delivered across the whole region.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

You're listening to the Fresh Food Cast.

SPEAKER_04 31:15

Ninka, we we heard feedback from uh various players in this um agricultural value chain. Uh disruptions in transport and logistics, that is of course a main uh key issue at the moment. Um, but also from the farming side, they they are looking for potential support, preferably from the public sector. Um how do you see this um changing uh in the nearby future? Uh the day of recording is is the 21st of May in 2026. But how how do you see this in the nearby future? Are we gonna uh uh expect some changes in this um food system?

SPEAKER_00 31:50

With the current conflict, we can definitely see that the food security strategies are being tested, and of course, also the longer the conflict uh uh endures, the more severe the impact will be. So stockpiling has been one of the parts of the strategy. Uh the stocks will deplete eventually, so we will see an impact there. If peace comes, and I hope that's really soon, and common sense will prevail, uh, then I think the impact is quite limited. But if we continue, uh we will have to adjust. And also, um, I think there is a lot of opportunity, for instance, in cold chain. As I mentioned before, um, the demand and supply of cold chain facilities are not exactly matching, and there's probably also a lot of opportunity to optimize it. A lot needs to be done via land transportation, railways are being used right now, which is also quite new for the region. Um, and there is a lot of um uh opportunity in um stocking cold chain items, so both in um the refrigerated area as well as in the frozen area, and that's where, as the Netherlands, we see a lot of opportunity to work together. Historically, we've been uh developing this sector quite well, and there is a lot of innovations that we would like to share with the Gulf region, and we're focusing on uh introducing them uh later this year or maybe earlier this uh next year in an innovation mission. And if you're interested, keep an eye on the website of uh ww.rvo.nl. And uh that's the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. And um, so yeah, I think there is the opportunity to work together, uh, besides, of course, the more historical cooperation in horticulture, for instance, but also in mushroom and in aquaculture, which are sectors that are locally feasible with uh limited uh natural means.

SPEAKER_04 33:54

Opportunities in the golden supply chain, okay, uh clear, whether it's storage or it is indeed a logistical issue. Uh opportunities in the traditional horticulture or controlled environment agriculture segments, uh, also clear. Uh mushrooms uh you mentioned as well. Um, what I didn't hear yet, but still plays a key role, is food waste and waste management.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

Can you definitely yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, part of it is of course making sure that no waste occurs. So that's also uh part of the post-harvest uh solutions that we uh we have to offer. And um in the end, of course, food waste and food loss will happen, uh, although we can reduce it quite significantly, and with that waste we can also still uh valorize. And um, there are some local initiatives that do this quite well, and we're also really looking into supporting this, both in terms of reducing food waste and food loss, as well as in working with the outputs um when there is waste or loss occurring.

SPEAKER_04 35:00

If the UE and Netherlands work together on this particular issue, or no, let me rephrase that question: if the GCC and the Netherlands work together, because let's take it in a more regional level, what would be step number one?

SPEAKER_00 35:14

Analyzing the issue, where is the waste and where is the loss occurring? And is it a seasonal thing or um is it uh year-round, and then address those pain points. And you cannot do everything at once, and as every single stream has its own characteristics and its own ways to valorize optimally, um, that's where we have to start with a proper analysis. And uh there is quite a lot known already, and um, yeah, there is also opportunities to uh uh to to work with more homogeneous waste streams and more heterogeneous waste streams, and homogeneous waste streams are more interesting in general because there is more value to extract from that.

SPEAKER_04 36:01

It would have been part of my next question as well. Uh is that data available already? Do we need to reinvent the wheel or or or um because by analyzing it also means data gathering, I assume.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

Yeah, definitely. Um reinventing the wheel is probably not necessary. Um, there are many uh databases and uh insights available. The local authorities have quite good insights in what's happening, and uh starting with the biggest chunks is uh in my view uh the the biggest uh makes the biggest difference in the short run.

SPEAKER_04 36:34

What will happen, by the way, with the piles that are all stuck on these container ships? Do you have any idea?

SPEAKER_00 36:40

If they're perished, they have to go to either landfill or to incineration, and um yeah, uh it is an issue indeed, um, because some of the countries have rules on uh the um the day, the expiry date that you need to have at least 60% of shelf life when it comes to shelf, yeah, like Saudi. And that's a serious concern for quite a few of the of the producers.

SPEAKER_04 37:08

Clear. Okay, Ninka, final remarks. Um this uh episode we we talked about the disruptions in the food supply chain uh uh due to the geopolitical situation. Um do you have any final remarks you want to share with our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Yeah, definitely. Keep an eye on our website. Uh hopefully the travel advice will uh change uh to a uh a brighter color in uh in the near future uh as the situation improves, hopefully. And then we're uh planning on organizing quite a few events and um missions and um on cold chain post-harvest management, but also linked to controlled environment agriculture. So keep an eye on uh our website and see what's happening.

SPEAKER_04 37:55

This was the Fresh Foodcast episode number five, uh commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and a production of the Netherlands Agricultural Network team in the GCC and Dutch Greenhouse Delta. The latest news we received is that the Global Vertical Farming Conference that was originally scheduled for September has been postponed to April 2027. We hope it will not affect all the other major events that are related to the food sector, such as Grow Tech Middle East as well as Saudi agriculture. Um Nienke, we keep track of it, but both of us we will now head to the Netherlands. Uh well actually you are in the Netherlands for the Green Tech in Amsterdam.

SPEAKER_00 38:35

Definitely. Our annual highlights in uh Rye Amsterdam from the 9th till the 11th of June, and all the people who matter just a little bit or massively are all there in uh controlled environment agriculture. So be there and uh looking forward to seeing all of you there. Thank you for listening.