Agriculture & Food Processing

Large and growing local and regional markets

• Saudi Arabia’s food and beverage (F&B) market is the largest in the Middle East. The market has a value of $42 billion and will expand at a pace of 3% up to 2030.
• The F&B market is fueled by a growing population and an increase in the number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, and a growing focus on national resilience and food security.
• The average household is reported to spend 18% of total expenditure on F&B, which is a domestic demand that amounts to 60% of the total consumption in the GCC.
• In 2019, imports exceeded $20.4 billion, which raises the prospect of significant import-substitution opportunities for Saudi-based F&B producers to serve the untapped local demand for dairy, meat and fruit products.

Unique dates endowment making it a suitable market for exports

• Saudi dates have a unique advantage over competitors thanks to Saudi Arabia's nutrient-rich soil which enables to produce Ajwa Madinah and Mabroum Sukari dates, resulting in excellent potential to produce high-quality and distinct dates.
• The global date harvest is anticipated to be more than 6 million tons per year, with the Kingdom accounting for 11.5% of that with a yearly production of more than 1.5 million tons – positioning the Kingdom among the top three global producers of dates.
• The Kingdom's 31 million date palms with 123 thousand farms and produce over 400 different types of dates. Production rates are steadily increasing at a time when global demand has also picked up the pace.

An ocean of fish guaranteeing big catches

• Saudi Arabia's seas are naturally endowed with a fish capacity of 5 million tons. Saudi Arabia is an approved supplier of seafood to the EU and can expand its large production capacities and capitalize on the export market's insatiable demand.
• Saudi Arabia is on track to be the first country in the world to have national level Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification.
• Shrimps, mackerels, and crabs make up most of the aquaculture market demand and significant growth in aquaculture market demand have raised the need for alternative and sustainable forms of fish farming.
• Domestic consumption of fish is expected to grow by 5% per annum until 2030, which translates to a significant increase from 310 tons to 865 tons. This is driven by rapid growth of the Kingdom’s population per capita consumption.
• Ambitious aquaculture targets have been set to increase the production of fish to 530,000 tons by 2030.
• The aquacultural industry has a plethora of options to export high-quality seafood goods to countries that covet the rich waters of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.