Top officials after the press conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

The UAE pet care industry is currently worth an over $300 million and the sector demonstrates huge growth potential as the numbers of pet ownership growing in the country, this was revealed during a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

The UAE alone has some 1.5 million pet owners, and is home to over 2 million pets, officials said during the announcement of Pet World Arabia exhibition, which will run during May 5-6, 2023 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Pet World Arabia, a brand new and comprehensive pets and pet industry exhibition is all set to debut in Dubai buoyed by the exponential growth of pet ownership in the UAE and the region, fueling the pet industry to reach an estimated $2 billion market. Spokespeople of Pet World Arabia, organised by Dubai’s pioneer in events and expos, Al Fajer Information & Services, said that the first-of-its-kind show will strengthen the pet care industry in the region.

“This is the first time a comprehensive pet care B2B show has been organised in the UAE and the region combined with a robust entertainment segment comprising a diverse set of live pet shows every day during the expo,” said Nadhal Mohamed, General Manager, Al Fajer Information & Services.

He said the expo has a confirmed participation from 70 companies from 16 countries showcasing pet food, fashion accessories to medicines. The participants also include veterinary experts, breeders, pet grooming and salon operators, insurance companies, trainers, pet furniture companies, to name a few.

The exhibitors at Pet World Arabia comes from Belgium, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, India, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Korea, Switzerland, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE and USA. According to Dr Shree Nair, CEO of Showline, the pet industry in the UAE is emerging very strong with the rise in pet ownership. “During and after COVID, global growth of pet industry has been unbelievable.

More and more people across geographies, including the Middle East, turned to pets for companionship during the COVID to tide over solitude from lockdowns and quarantine restrictions. In the UAE, pet ownership during this period shot up by an estimated 30 per cent with people across the demography of young singles to seniors taking to pets, primarily cats and dogs.

This has fueled the pet care industry in the country to an over $300 million market, which is still growing,” Dr Nair said. In Dubai particularly, almost every third day a veterinary clinic opens to cater to the rising number of pets, indicating growth in ownership and the pet care market, he said, adding that pet food manufacturing, which is a new business to the region is also emerging as an upcoming investment front, particularly in Saudi Arabia where the government is supporting setting up manufacturing companies.

'My Home’ for pets: Pet owners are now going for new trends like dolling up their pets with specially made fashion costumes, and the UAE market is seeing an increasing number of pet costume designers. The new trends also include sophisticated `My Home’ pet care shelters and mobile pet-grooming units reaching out to pet owners where they reside.