Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need approval to trade dry ice?
No. Activity 4690.95 requires no third-party approval, so Meydan Free Zone can issue the business license directly. The activity is also not subject to AML compliance requirements.
2. Who buys dry ice in the UAE?
Pharmaceutical distributors, clinical laboratories, food logistics operators, airline caterers, industrial cleaning contractors, and event and hospitality businesses.
3. Why is dry ice used instead of conventional refrigeration?
It holds temperatures far below conventional freezing and sublimates directly to gas, leaving no liquid residue. That makes it suitable for transport where mechanical refrigeration is impractical.
4. Can I manufacture dry ice under this licence?
No. Producing carbon dioxide or manufacturing dry ice is an industrial activity outside this scope. This licence covers trading and supplying product made by others.
5. What drives UAE demand?
Pharmaceutical manufacturing expansion and cold chain investment, including a 29 million square foot food district redevelopment adding advanced temperature-controlled storage capacity from 2027.
6. Does this cover refrigerated transport services?
No. Providing refrigerated transport or cold storage as a service is separately classified. This activity covers supplying the dry ice itself.
How to Start a Dry Ice Trading Business with Meydan Free Zone
Dry ice trading covers the supply of solid carbon dioxide, used wherever something must be kept far colder than conventional refrigeration allows. It sublimates directly from solid to gas, leaving no liquid residue, which makes it the default choice for temperature-critical shipping, laboratory transport, industrial cleaning, and event effects. Because it cannot be stockpiled indefinitely, the trade is built on delivery reliability and turnaround rather than on inventory depth.
Demand tracks two expanding UAE sectors. Pharmaceutical manufacturing continues to scale, with investments such as a 150,700 square foot facility in Dubai Industrial City backed by AED 110 million and designed to produce over 300 million tablets a year.[1] On the food side, Dubai Municipality and DP World are redeveloping the emirate's central produce market into a 29 million square foot food district with advanced cold and temperature-controlled storage, with the first phase beginning in 2027.[2]
The wider trade base supports sourcing and distribution, with UAE non-oil foreign trade passing AED 3.8 trillion in 2025 and imports exceeding AED 2.1 trillion.[3] For a supplier, the commercial logic is proximity: dry ice must reach the customer quickly, so serving a dense concentration of pharmaceutical, food, and logistics operators from one base is the model.
Cold Chain Demand Built on Pharma and Food Expansion
A Dubai-licensed dry ice trader supplies a cold chain underpinned by pharmaceutical investment such as a 150,700 square foot Dubai Industrial City facility producing over 300 million tablets a year, and by a 29 million square foot food district redevelopment adding advanced temperature-controlled storage from 2027.
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Sources: Research and Markets / Dubai Industrial City (2024), Dubai Municipality / DP World (2026), UAE Ministry of Economy (2026)
Who Is This Activity For?
4690.95 - Dry Ice Trading
Activity 4690.95 sits within the broader class covering non-specialised wholesale trade. Within that class, this activity is the trading of dry ice, meaning solid carbon dioxide supplied for cooling, preservation, cleaning, and effects use. It covers buying and supplying dry ice in block, slice, and pellet form to pharmaceutical, food, logistics, industrial, and hospitality customers. The activity concerns supplying the product as traded goods. It does not extend to manufacturing or producing carbon dioxide, or to providing refrigerated transport as a service in its own right.
The trading range covers:
- Dry ice blocks for extended cooling duration
- Pellets and slices for shipping and packing use
- Supply to pharmaceutical and clinical cold chain
- Food and perishable transport cooling
- Dry ice pellets for industrial blast cleaning
- Event, hospitality, and stage effects supply
- Scheduled replenishment and on-demand delivery
Service Scope
Pharmaceutical & Clinical Cold Chain
Supplying dry ice for vaccine, biologic, and clinical sample transport where temperature excursion means loss of the entire consignment.
Food & Perishable Transport
Cooling for chilled and frozen food consignments in transit, including airline catering, seafood, and temperature-sensitive produce.
Industrial Blast Cleaning Media
Dry ice pellets supplied for blast cleaning of machinery and plant, a method that leaves no secondary waste to dispose of.
Laboratory & Research Supply
Supplying laboratories and research facilities requiring deep cold storage and sample transport at temperatures below conventional freezing.
Events & Hospitality Effects
Block and pellet supply for stage fog, beverage presentation, and hospitality applications, a project-driven demand stream.
WHAT THIS ACTIVITY EXCLUDES
It is important to note what activity 4690.95 does not cover. The manufacture or production of carbon dioxide and dry ice is an industrial activity outside this scope. Providing refrigerated transport or cold storage as a service in its own right is separately classified, as is trading conventional water ice. Trading industrial and liquefied gases generally requires separate approval and sits within its own scope. Carrying out industrial cleaning as a contracted service, rather than supplying the media, is a distinct activity.
In short: if you are supplying dry ice to cold chain, industrial, and hospitality customers, you are in. If you are producing carbon dioxide, running refrigerated transport or storage as a service, or trading other industrial gases, you are not.
Licensing & Compliance
Third-Party Approval:
No third-party approval is required before your business license is issued.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance:
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirement.
References
[1] Research and Markets (citing Dubai Industrial City pharmaceutical investment). UAE Container Glass Market report.
[2] Dubai Trade / DP World. Dubai Food District cold storage redevelopment announcement.
[3] Trade Arabia (UAE official trade statistics). (2026). UAE's non-oil foreign trade tops AED3.8 trillion.
