Dubai Sugar Conference
When looking for five-star hotels, Dubai offers a multitude of choices. Set in one of the world’s hotspots, Dubai is a sumptuous combination of old-world hospitality and new-world amenities. With an exciting music scene, a blossoming art world, and the presence of extremely high tech shopping malls in the same place as some old market districts, Dubai is a city of curiosities. The number of recent expats setting down roots here is a testimony to the attraction of the place. There is the solitude of the desert, but there is also the extreme social life on the beach. Whether the purpose of the trip is business or pleasure, there is something for everyone.
Sugar plays a very important part in Dubai culture, and in the UAE generally. A key ingredient in the delicious baked sweets recipes, generous amounts stirred into mind-bogglingly good coffee, and used quite liberally in other culinary concoctions, sugar is a magic elixir. Sugar, of course, has a long and peculiar history, and its story is by no means unfinished. In Dubai, sugar refineries are shifting from India to Brazil for the favorite sugar exporter. The distance between Dubai and Brazil is much, much further than between Dubai and India, but the cost is so much less for Brazil’s sugar, that buying patterns are changing. In Brazil, the choice is often between exporting unrefined sugar or ethanol, but changes in petrol consumption and production are starting to shift, which will be fascinating to watch in the global market in the coming years.
Sugar’s importance here is further exemplified by the Dubai Sugar Conference. Held in this city for five years running, the conference focuses on world trends in sugar production, exportation, and consumption in the world. Last years conference had 411 delegates representing 29 countries, from Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Asia & Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. It is attended by shippers, consultants, traders, producers, refiners, and bankers. Lately focusing on issues of contemporary sugar and ethanol consumption, the conference is a chance to network on some of the most important issues facing the sugar world today.