UAE Identifies 5,000 Products Worth Up to Dh180 Billion for Local Manufacturers

Ibtisam Rashid Al Saadi, the ministry's acting assistant undersecretary for industrial development, gave the figures at the third Ras Al Khaimah Investment and Business Summit, according to Al Bayan. She said the opportunities come from the National In-Country Value programme. The programme steers government and large-company procurement towards suppliers that manufacture and add value in the UAE.

The list shows companies what buyers already purchase, such as goods now imported that the market could absorb if they were made domestically. The government has used this approach to push industrial diversification and to make supply chains more resilient.

Al Saadi said the UAE has localised purchases worth Dh81 billion. She said total local procurement through the programme has reached Dh473 billion. Al Bayan did not report over what period those figures were measured.

She said the ministry was at the summit to promote the opportunities under its Make it in the Emirates initiative and turn them into industrial projects. The Make it in the Emirates platform connects investors and manufacturers with financiers, technology providers, decision-makers and buyers, she said. She pointed to Ras Al Khaimah's existing industrial base in building materials, cement, ceramics, glass, pharmaceuticals and food.

She said supply-chain resilience does not mean producing every raw material at home. The aim is to localise as many stages of production as possible, including available materials, semi-finished goods and industrial inputs, so producers depend less on outside sources.

Al Saadi said the ministry supports factories adopting artificial intelligence, sensors, digital systems and advanced software to raise productivity, cut waste and improve quality. She said the shift is changing the skills industry needs rather than eliminating jobs, and is creating openings in engineering, programming and the management of smart systems.

She did not give a timetable for awarding contracts against the 5,000 products or name the sectors where demand is largest.