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Dubai has only ten days of fresh food left after the closure of the Straits of Hormuz has cut the United Arab Emirates (UAE) off from all its imports, including food. In Abu Dhabi, with the prospect of the region becoming unliveable, real estate prices are also collapsing.

As bne IntelliNews reported, the Hormuz chokepoint could kill Dubai, a hub of investment and business in the region. The Gulf countries don’t have any water and don’t produce much food for their combined population of around 60mn people. Fresh products in particular like vegetables and fruit are almost all imported. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closed the Straits of Hormuz to oil exports on March 2, but the embargo also effectively blocked all food imports at the same time.

The Emirates imports between 80% and 90% of its food, with roughly 70% of food shipments to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries normally passing through the Strait of Hormuz on the 100- odd ships that traversed the Straits until a week ago.

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[-] Hegar@fedia.io 46 points 2 weeks ago

The UAE is not about to starve. It maintains strategic grain reserves and holds significant stocks of frozen and packaged foods, meaning the country is not facing a broader food shortage.

[-] AmidFuror@fedia.io 22 points 2 weeks ago

I don't know what's scarier. The fact that half the commenters didn't read that far into the article or that they couldn't figure out for themselves that fresh food is not all food.

[-] Hegar@fedia.io 3 points 2 weeks ago

I think the headline is designed to be misleading - the dramatic tone implies a worse situation than the actual words describe.

It's not how headlines are written now, but it would be more honest to say: Dubai to rely less on fresh food Perishable food in limited supply Fresh fruit and vegetables affected by war in iran

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Add to the scary list: that some people think it’s no cause for alarm if a country resorts to grain reserves to survive.

[-] bonenode@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

How is the UAE stockpiling frozen foods? Feels like the least cost-effective way for this country to store anything long term as emergency stock.

[-] 6stringringer@lemmy.zip 17 points 2 weeks ago
[-] spazzman6156@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 weeks ago
[-] 6stringringer@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Is that a Harry & David gift box by chance? I caint see shit b/c I caint find my dang spectacles. There they are. Nope. Not Harry & David but much better than they are getting.

[-] Teknikal@anarchist.nexus 15 points 2 weeks ago

Shouldn't they be more worried about water hasn't Iran started targeting desalination plants that are 90% of the supply there (I think).

[-] starsoaked_lily@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 weeks ago

yes, after the us attacked iran's desalination (which it depends on much less than other countries in the region do) opening the door to in-kind retaliation

[-] tempest@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Eh, they have been in a what shortage since before this war so it might be more important to them

[-] Zephorah@discuss.online 13 points 2 weeks ago

Explain to me how this doesn’t encourage a United bombing run on both Israel and the states.

They’re starving working class plebs like you and me right now. Something about the internal class war in the states makes me livid about that wherever it’s happening. Viscerally.

A handful of guys decide to shit on one another and the rest of us are supposed to bathe in the excremental splatter and like it. Why FFS?

These same assholes are supposed to be in power for the express purpose of shielding their people from said shit.

[-] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago

Explain to me how this doesn’t encourage a United bombing run on both Israel and the states.

Nukes. The US has a lot of fucking nukes. We've used them before, when a sane government was in control. If anyone bombs the US it will literally be the end of civilization.

That's not hyperbole. This orange fuck will absolutely let the nukes rip.

Israel also has a lot of nukes.

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[-] Gold_E_Lox@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

These same assholes are supposed to be in power for the express purpose of shielding their people from said shit.

with the context from the rest of your comment, the fact you still believe this is astounding.

[-] Widdershins@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Let them eat those stupid ass chocolate bars

[-] Gork@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 weeks ago

Do they not have land trade routes?

[-] theneverfox@pawb.social 4 points 2 weeks ago

Why drive through a desert when you have a port?

[-] biofaust@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Spec Ops: The Line was a very good game.

[-] ms_lane@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Never finished it and won't.

Game directly tells you you can stop killing Civilians at any time by just not playing.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 2 weeks ago

That's kind of silly. I get where you're coming from, but since it's a video game that's telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end, and since the people are not real people in any sense of the word, wouldn't it make sense to just finish it to see how the story ends?

[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah. The story is on rails. It's not an RPG where you can choose the good path or the evil path. I can imagine feeling bad about playing the evil path in a game where you had the option not to do it. But, if you want to see the story in a linear game like that you have click the mouse in the way required to get to the next save point. Feeling superior about not finishing a game like that is like feeling superior because you read a book where the main character is an antihero, and you chose not to finish the book.

Besides, it's "deep" for a modern AAA shooter video game, but not particularly deep or upsetting in terms of storytelling.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, it's a cool game, but you could just read Heart of Darkness instead and prob be better off

[-] sheetzoos@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Dubai had no problem using slaves to build the Burj Khalifa. Maybe they should have their slaves bring some food for their masters?

[-] P1k1e@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Perhaps a few cocktails as well

[-] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

be dubai
build city in the middle of the desert
literally nothing grows here
we import all our stuff
trade blockade
gonna starve
mfw

Also how did people historically live there? Before desalination plants

[-] Tatar_Nobility@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 weeks ago

Most of the Arab peninsula was inhabited by nomadic tribes that continuously moved with their cattle and tents, with the exception of a few scattered cities that thrived on trade and light agriculture (dates).

[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

Obviously far fewer people lived there. They probably got their fresh water from a wadi or an oasis.

They're not going to starve because they have a reserve of canned and frozen foods (as it says in the article), but they won't get fresh food for a while. And, if you live in a modern city, you also import all your food, often from across an ocean.

The problem we're seeing a lot in the modern world is that everything has been ultra optimized. Lots of just-in-time delivery, as little warehousing as possible. Products are bought for the lowest possible cost, even if that means they're shipped from the other side of the planet. When it works, that's fine. But, when there's a disruption it's deadly. I remember at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the price of bread in Egypt skyrocketed since all the grain they used came from Ukraine.

UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, etc. are in a bad geographic situation. They have ports on the sea but to get anything into their countries it has to pass by the Strait of Hormuz. Iran can mess with that traffic any time it wants, and Iran isn't exactly friendly with those countries, or particularly stable. I wonder if those countries have backup plans to ship things in via say Oman.

[-] Renat@szmer.info 1 points 2 weeks ago

In XVIII they lived from fishery and hunting clams. In XX they lived from port and trade. In second half of XX they lived from petroleum. Now they live from youtubers who are testing rooms and food there.

[-] uienia@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

It should also be mentioned that considerably fewer people lived there back then.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

If they're unable to reopen the strait, perhaps they can force Trump to halt attacking Iran by stopping their own fossil fuel production. Something oil embargo.

[-] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

The US is less reliant on products which traverse the strait then in the other population center on the planet. It actually may be in its strongest strategic interest to continue on a course which keeps the strait closed, ignoring the humanitarian impact and loss of soft power and goodwill.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

True but they can't escape the coming inflation wave. As fossil fuel supply thru the strait decreases, intl buyers would seek to buy from other sources, bidding up prices everywhere. That includes American producers who'd gladly export instead of feeding the domestic demand. This could change if the US gov't decides to move away from free markets and imoses export and price controls.

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe a few more gold plated jets will do the trick

[-] raman_klogius@ani.social 2 points 2 weeks ago

That Dubai some time, just not enough

[-] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

i hope nobody starves but fuck Dubai

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[-] rants_unnecessarily@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

What about Bahrain and Kuwait? How are they doing without the Straits of Hormuz?

[-] tehn00bi@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

But how many toilets do they have left?

[-] mycodesucks@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

No need to brag about it, Dubai.

[-] Jaberw0cky@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Then they shouldn’t allow US bases that get them embroiled in unprovoked conflicts.

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

Shouldn't have been an ally of the US and Israel.

[-] dude@lemmings.world 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

They’re not allies of the US nor Israel but just try to play being allies of everyone, just like Qatar, Turkey or India

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

If you're hosting some other country's military bases you're either its Ally or its Vassal.

I can understand why they do it, but none the less there's no such thing as a free lunch.

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[-] ZiggyTheZygote@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 weeks ago
[-] criscodisco@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Who do you think will go hungry first?

The powerful or their slaves?

[-] ZiggyTheZygote@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

Goddamnit you're right. Nevermind. Hopefully the elite there will evaporate in a big hellfire.

[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 weeks ago

The slaves for sure, but it also creates a situation where the powerful may not be giving enough food to their security forces, and their security forces turn on them, joining the slaves in outright rebellion.

Not that this will bring more food in, but it could result in some of those "powerful" people suddenly not being so powerful.

[-] Mvlad88@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe one of those vanity projects could have been a greenhouse or something, but I guess it's too late for that.

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this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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