Tag Archives: infrastructure
Water, beverage sales up with rising mercury
Water, beverage sales up with rising mercury Sarah Young (sarah@khaleejtimes.com) / 11 June 2013 Sales of water and other beverages have almost doubled in some retail outlets, as the temperatures rise and people stock up for Ramadan. Aswaaq merchandise and buying senior manager Tariq Masood said bottled water sales had started to rise since the end of April, and would rise continuously through to October — particularly during Ramadan. “During Ramadan, people consume a lot of water (after dark). Consumption is huge. “Before and after Ramadan, water sale growth is between five per cent to 10 per cent, (while) during Ramadan season (growth) is between 20 to 25 per cent.” Overall, sales usually increased one-and-a-half to double the amount sold in winter, he said. A Thirsty Nation Consumption of beverages in the UAE higher than others in the region The beverages industry is growing rapidly in the UAE, with our drinking habits outperforming other countries with much bigger populations in the region. Secretary-General of the Arab Asian Beverage Alliance (AABA) Dr Ahmed Al Banna said the UAE beverage industry was “growing drastically”. Bottled water sales had been steadily rising — about 23 per cent — from a trade volume of 457.4 million litres in 2007, to 545 million in 2010 and 561.6 million in 2012. “There’s big growth in terms of consumption, and this is only natural with the growth of the population in the UAE.” Soft drinks trade volumes had risen from 1,224.4 million litres in 2007, to 1,464.2 million litres in 2012 — an increase of about 20 per cent. Sports and energy drinks were also on the rise, growing about 50 per cent from 16 million litres in 2007 to 24.6 million litres in 2012, as were fruit and vegetable juices which had “increased dramatically due to public awareness of the importance of (these in a person’s diet). “People are also becoming more aware of using … specialised or concentrated drinks for sports.” Fruit and vegetable drink trade volumes had increased 37 per cent, from 192.6 million in 2007, to 264.3 million litres in 2012. “All of these increase during summer.” Consumption in general was high compared to other countries in the region, Al Banna said. For example, the UAE’s consumption of soft drinks was close to that of Egypt despite the large difference in population size. In 2012, Egypt, with a population of about 80 million, had a trade volume of 2,111.4 million litres of soft drinks, only 647 million litres more than the UAE with a population less than a tenth of the size. Al Banna said this could be attributed to the geographical location and the heat, the prevalence of marketing schemes and gimmicks here, and the higher per capita income. “In certain countries, soft drinks are considered to be a luxury item … but not here.” Another comparison could be made with Morocco, which did not have the same extremes of heat, he said. Soft drink trade volumes in the UAE were about 42 million litres more than Morroco in 2012, despite also having only almost a tenth of the population. Along with the weather conditions, the growth of the industry in general could be attributed to population growth, social changes such as more knowledge and awareness, incoming tourism, and per capita income, he said. Sarah Young sarah@khaleejtimes.com Aswaaq supermarkets around Dubai were currently building up stocks to meet the needs over the coming months, and commitments had been made with suppliers to guarantee supply within one hour if stocks ran out. Juices, yoghurt drinks and other beverage sales also increased dramatically in summer, and normally rose about 25 per cent during Ramadan. The cordial drink Vimto, popularly used to break the fast, was the highest seller during this period, with more than 75 per cent of the year’s sales for this product was expected to be occuring then, he said. This was also the case for Rooh Afza rose syrup. Sales assistant at the Eppco fuel station at Beach road in Umm Suqeim 2 Arnold Balede said water sales had started increasing since the end of March, and he had started ordering double the amount of water they usually sold to cope with the rising demand. Al Bashaer Grocery store (also in Umm Suqeim 2) assistant Shihabudheen Kulayam Kazhig said the shop usually sold 80 per cent more water during the summer months. Al Bayan was the most popular, followed by Oasis. Almarai Co juices were also starting to sell more frequently. Customer Ayman El Sayed said he generally drank eight cups of water a day, but this increased to about 12 in summer. He would buy two additional 15.1-litre bottles in summer, for a total of six each week for a family of four. “We only drink bottled water. I’m not sure the tap water is that hygienic … especially after seeing the floods in winter here, I’m not sure about the infrastructure.” Secretary-General of the Arab Asian Beverage Alliance (AABA) Dr Ahmed Al Banna said water and other beverage sales saw a significant spike in the summer months. “The high temperatures and high humidity…it’s medically known you lose a lot of fluid, and you need to replace that by drinking a lot of water.” Medical reports suggested people drink about three litres of water per day, he said. “The environment, the geographical location of the UAE and the high temperatures in summer, especially in the months of July, August and September, drastically bring up the consumption of water — for drinking and for hygiene purposes.” Dubai-based supply chain executive for an energy drinks company Nafeesa Fernandes said their company also usually saw a 40 per cent increase in the sale of energy drinks from June to August each year. She had started buying double the amount of water she usually bought — now 12 two-litre bottles per week — this month as the temperatures started to rise, she said. “I used to buy 24 bottles for a month, I drink much less in winter. I’ll probably go up to 14 a week in the middle of summer. “I also buy a lot more juice now too. I have got really dehydrated here in summer, I would begin coughing a lot … and it affects your energy if you don’t drink enough. It’s really necessary in this country. A lot of people just hand out bottles of water on the streets in summer too. “I do feel a bit bad about the amount of plastic I consume, but we have a recycle bin in the office so that’s good.” Dubai-based Zaineb Qamar, from Hong Kong, said she had also doubled the amount of water she purchased this month. “It’s a common thing here, it’s a need … because of the temperature and the humidity, especially in Abu Dhabi. “You notice steel barrels of water out on the street for the labourers now, which are not normally filled with water. And a lot of guys in the gym drink a lot of energy drinks like Powerhorse and Red Bull.” Continue reading
Biofuels: US Steers Bumpy Course To Green Fuel
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7d2320c-c3a3-11e2-aa5b-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2VGGxWIMs By Rose Jacobs In February this year, a US appeals court handed down its verdict in a case brought by the American Petroleum Institute against the Environmental Protection Agency. The API had argued that the government agency overestimated the volume of cellulosic ethanol – a second-generation biofuel made from feedstocks that are not part of the human food chain – available on the market in 2012. That, the plaintiffs said, put refining and blending companies in a bind. The targets US refiners are expected to meet for renewable transport fuel levels are tied to EPA estimates. But, while the EPA set the goal at 8.65m gallons of cellulosic ethanol last year, only 20,000 gallons were in fact produced. Surely, said the API, that shortfall should not fall on its members’ shoulders? The judges’ decision was mixed. On one hand, they found the EPA had indeed let the wish for higher output of the fuel be “the father to thought” – something the law had not intended. On the other, the judges agreed with the EPA that the target need not be lowered, since other second-generation biofuels could be used instead, if necessary. The decision underscores two strains running through the biofuel industry. First, say critics, regulation appears to be out of step with science. Deriving energy from switchgrass and orange peel is hard to do and producers will almost certainly fall short of 2022 targets set out by the US’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Yet regulators and politicians do not appear to be backing away from their ambitions. In fact, days after the appeals court decision in the API versus EPA case, the EPA increased its production estimates – and therefore volume mandates – for cellulosic ethanol to 14m gallons in 2013. The situation has investors and companies making bets on whether political will, and government funding, can force the hand of science – and often hedging those bets soon after. BP appeared to get a step or two ahead of itself in Florida, pushing forward on a plant that would produce cellulose ethanol on a commercial scale, only to cancel the plans last autumn in favour of investment in cellulosic biofuel research and development. “Given the large and growing portfolio of investment opportunities available to BP globally, we believe it is in the best interest of our shareholders to redeploy the considerable capital required to build this facility into other more attractive projects,” said BP at the time. Detlef Schoen, a managing partner at Aquila Capital, a company focused on alternative investments, argues that investment by traditional oil and gas companies in biofuels has, in many cases, more to do with managing reputational risk than real hopes for commercial scale production. He says a cold hard look at biofuels, and one unaffected by politics, would acknowledge that some “green” fuels do not offer a considerable environmental advantage over traditional fuels: “The output of energy is not higher than the input when you look at the whole life cycle of biofuels,” says Mr Schoen. Add in the problems associated with first-generation biofuels, such as ethanol made from corn – which thereby diverts human food stocks away from human mouths – and many question the wisdom of the RFS. But Ernie Shea, who heads the group 25x’25, which aims to push the biofuel portion of transport fuel to 25 per cent by 2025, believes that much of this scepticism is simply the result of entrenched interests. “It was a political decision to go to 36,” he says of the 36bn gallons that will need to be blended into transport fuel by 2022 under the RFS – up from 9bn in 2008. “But it was designed to be aggressive and it unleashed significant human capital and financial capital.” He is concerned, therefore, that new fuel economy standards, unveiled last August, “virtually eliminated” the incentives for carmakers to offer flexible-fuel vehicles. Nor does he think there are enough incentives in place to encourage the creation of the infrastructure – gas stations and pumps – that would support flexible fuels. Moreover, the appeal of biofuels as a solution to energy security in the US has been undermined by the shale gas revolution. Still, in his view, the opportunities outweigh the challenges. The next front, he says, is educating the public and politicians about the human health benefits of lower-carbon fuels, since they produce significantly lower levels of particulate matter. “At some point, we‘re going to look at the 36bn number and ask, why stop there?” he says. “We‘re on the glide path the RFS was designed to bring about.” Continue reading
Jack and Jill Supermarket demolished amid court tussle
http://www.ntv.co.ke Still staying on buildings, the renowned Jack and Jill Supermarket situated downtown Nairobi has been demolished under mysterious circum… Continue reading
