Table of Contents
How to Start a Wholesale of Charcoal, Coal, Coke, Fuel Wood, and Naphtha Business with Meydan Free Zone
When a container ship refuels at a UAE port, when a cement plant in Ras Al Khaimah fires its kiln, when a steel foundry in Abu Dhabi charges its furnace, and when a hospitality group stocks charcoal for its grills across Dubai, the fuel in play traces back to a wholesaler in this category.
On one end sits naphtha, the largest petrochemical feedstock globally, moving by cargo between refiners and petrochemical producers. On the other end sits bagged charcoal moving by the pallet to hotels and F&B distributors.
In between sit coal and coke feeding UAE cement, steel, and foundry operations, and fuel wood serving specialist industrial and hospitality buyers. According to Expert Market Research¹, the global naphtha market reached USD 182.60 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow at 4.20% CAGR through 2035 to USD 275.54 billion, with the Middle East and Africa witnessing the fastest growth in production and export potential, anchored in the UAE by ADNOC Gas's expansion and Borouge's polyolefin capacity build-out.
Naphtha is the largest petrochemical feedstock globally, followed by coal, natural gas, and ethane according to Prophecy Market Insights², with plastics demand continuing to pull through feedstock procurement. ADNOC Gas holds 95% of UAE natural gas reserves per The National³ and has awarded USD 5 billion in contracts for its Rich Gas Development project, boosting LNG, LPG, and naphtha exports.
Hydrocarbon Engineering⁴ reports that Borouge 4, the USD 7.5 billion ADNOC-OMV ethylene and polyethylene expansion, is set to become operational by end-2026 and will anchor UAE polyolefin capacity. Intel Market Research⁵ notes GCC producers enjoy a 25-30% cost advantage in ethane and naphtha against global averages.
Russia surpassed the UAE as India's top naphtha supplier in Jan-Sep 2023 per Expert Market Research¹, shifting regional trade flows and opening space for UAE-based traders. On the solid fuel side, UAE demand for coal and coke feeds cement, steel, and foundry operators, while charcoal and fuel wood supply hospitality, grill, and shisha distributors.
Whether you are supplying naphtha cargoes to petrochemical off-takers, metallurgical coke to UAE steel and foundry operators, or charcoal and fuel wood to hospitality and F&B distributors, this activity covers the specialised wholesale scope for the solid carbon fuels and petrochemical feedstock products the UAE moves in volume.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero corporate tax on qualifying income, and a fully digital licensing process, positioning wholesalers of charcoal, coal, coke, fuel wood, and naphtha at the centre of a market where UAE petrochemical expansion, regional bunker fuel demand, and sustained industrial consumption of solid carbon fuels are generating procurement activity across both ends of this specialised fuel category.
Who is this for?
| Audience Segment | Profile |
|---|---|
| Naphtha and petrochemical feedstock traders | |
| Coal, coke, and metallurgical fuel wholesalers | |
| Charcoal and fuel wood distributors | |
| Firms trading naphtha cargoes between refiners, petrochemical producers, and shipping lines, leveraging the UAE's position as a regional trading hub and ADNOC-anchored feedstock availability to serve regional and export markets. | |
| Firms wholesaling thermal and metallurgical coal, coke, and related solid fuels to cement manufacturers, steel and foundry operators, and industrial processors across the UAE and GCC. | |
| Firms wholesaling charcoal and fuel wood to UAE hospitality, grill, and shisha distributors, as well as industrial buyers using solid carbon fuels for heating, barbecue, and process applications. |
4661.01 - Wholesale of charcoal, coal, coke, fuel wood, and naphtha
Under this activity, you are licensed to wholesale charcoal, coal, coke, fuel wood, and naphtha in the UAE. You could be a naphtha trader moving cargoes between refiners and petrochemical buyers, a coal wholesaler supplying cement plants, or a charcoal distributor feeding hospitality grills across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Your role is to source from upstream producers, refiners, or import channels and move product in commercial volume to industrial, petrochemical, hospitality, or export buyers.
However, this activity has defined boundaries. It excludes wholesale of crude petroleum, crude oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, fuel oil, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gases, butane and propane gas, lubricating oils and greases, and refined petroleum products, which fall under separate sub-classes of the fuels wholesale group.
If you are wholesaling charcoal, coal, coke, fuel wood, or naphtha, you are within the scope of this business.
| Category | Scope |
|---|---|
| Naphtha and petrochemical feedstock | Wholesale of naphtha as a petrochemical feedstock, fuel blending component, and refinery product, including light and heavy naphtha grades. Trade naphtha cargoes between regional refiners and petrochemical buyers, supply feedstock to steam crackers, or reposition naphtha volumes between Middle East, Asian, and European markets as trade flows shift. TRADER DYNAMICS Wholesale in this category runs on a mix of cargo-scale commodity trading for naphtha, coal, and coke, and container or bagged distribution for charcoal and fuel wood, with traders typically anchoring relationships through long-term supply contracts, storage and blending capability, and regional logistics partnerships. |
| Coal and coke | Wholesale of thermal and metallurgical coal and coke for industrial, cement, foundry, and power applications. Supply thermal coal to UAE cement producers, metallurgical coke to steel and foundry operations, or import coal cargoes for regional industrial and power generation buyers. MARKET TRENDS Expert Market Research¹ reports that Russia has surpassed the UAE as India's top naphtha supplier, shifting regional trade flows, while Intel Market Research⁵ highlights GCC producers' 25-30% feedstock cost advantage as a structural edge supporting UAE-based trading activity. |
| Charcoal and fuel wood | Wholesale of charcoal and fuel wood for hospitality, F&B, industrial, and domestic solid-fuel applications. Distribute charcoal to UAE hospitality groups, shisha and grill supply chains, and F&B distributors, or wholesale fuel wood to industrial and specialist solid-fuel buyers. UAE CONTEXT ADNOC Gas holds 95% of UAE natural gas reserves per The National³ and is boosting naphtha and LPG exports via the USD 5 billion Rich Gas Development project, while Borouge 4's USD 7.5 billion expansion per Hydrocarbon Engineering⁴ will anchor UAE polyolefin production and pull through sustained feedstock demand from end-2026. |
Third-Party Approval
No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
References
- ¹ Expert Market Research. Naphtha Market Size, Trends, Growth & YoY Scope Rate 2035. expertmarketresearch.com
- ² Prophecy Market Insights via Yahoo Finance. (2023, August 3). Petrochemical Feedstock Market; Growing Number of Industries to Foster Market Growth 2020-2032. finance.yahoo.com
- ³ The National. (2025, June 10). Adnoc Gas awards $5bn in contracts for Rich Gas Development project. thenationalnews.com
- ⁴ Hydrocarbon Engineering. (2025, March 4). OMV and ADNOC to create fourth-largest global polyolefin group. hydrocarbonengineering.com
- ⁵ Intel Market Research. Africa, Middle East & Petrochemicals Market Outlook 2026-2034. intelmarketresearch.com
