Paper industry’s share in the US$ 3.46bn Middle East waste recycling services market steadily climbing
Speaking at the opening of the region’s leading B2B paper industry show in Dubai, Propaper 2025, Al Ghurair Foods spokesperson said that the project’s major civil and MEP works for the main process structure has now been substantially completed.
“Installation of the processing equipment is currently underway. We are targeting a phased completion in Q1-2026, with our flagship product set to launch during that quarter, followed by the introduction of additional products in subsequent phases,” emphasized Hamad Al Ghurair, Vice President, Al Ghurair Foods.
While the paper industry is one of the several end-users—including food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and chemicals—it plays a strategic role through its use of starch in papermaking, surface sizing, and coatings, he said, adding that this underscores corn starch’s importance in strengthening regional industrial supply chains and enhancing product performance across key manufacturing sectors.
UAE imports
The UAE imports an estimated US$ 20mn worth of corn starch per annum and Hamad Al Ghurair said that he is confident in the new company’s ability to replace most imports currently entering the market, positioning local production as a reliable and competitive alternative. The project is coming up on a 13.6-hectare site in KEZAD.
In the UAE, corn starch plays a pivotal role across diverse sectors—from food and pharmaceuticals to textiles, paper, adhesives, animal feed, eco-friendly materials, and personal care. Its versatility as a natural thickener, binder, coating agent, and biodegradable source makes it a key ingredient for both industrial applications and sustainable innovation.
Propaper 2025
This year’s Propaper 2025 during October 13-15, has a special focus on reinforcing sustainability and circular economy initiatives in the paper industry to mitigate its carbon footprint with many key players in the region deploying investments in recycling projects.
“There is a steady rise in the number of paper mills investing in renewables and waste recycling to help mitigate climate impact across the region while the number of increasing Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) that include smaller sorting and processing units to feed paper mills also signify the serious intent with which this is pursued, “observed Jeen Joshua, Managing Director, Verifair, organisers of Propaper 2025.
Across the region, paper mills in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are majorly spearheading these initiatives with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman leading the way. Cumulatively investments in paper recycling and innovation are estimated to be in the range of US$ 200mn across the region with a predominant share among Gulf countries.
These investments in recycling include US$ 54mn made by Star Paper Mills of the UAE; US$ 5.5mn by Kimfay East Africa; US$ 2.5mn by Tetrapak–Union paper Mills JV in Egypt; US$ 40mn by Oman’s Kreyas Paper, and a significant investment by Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) of Saudi Arabia. According to ENF recycling data which lists recycling paper mills, there are now between 80-100 paper recycling plants across the MEA region.
