NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said on Wednesday that the world’s biggest exporter of oil will not sit by and let another supply glut surface, but also does not want oil prices to rise to “unreasonable levels.”
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are seeking a close balance between supply and demand, Khalid Al-Falih said, speaking on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, a gathering of oil producers and consumers in New Delhi. Falih also told reporters he was happy with the current state of the oil market.
OPEC, Russia and several other non-OPEC producers began to cut supply in January 2017 in an effort to erase a global glut of crude that had built up since 2014. They have extended the pact until the end of 2018.
“I think a lot of the glut has been cleared,” said Falih. Asked if he was happy with the current market, he replied, “Yes, I am.”
Brent crude was trading above $70 a barrel on Wednesday, though easing away from the 2014 highs it matched in the previous session, as escalating Middle East tensions were offset by increasing inventories and production in the United States.
OPEC and its partners meet to decide oil policy in June and next week a ministerial panel gathers to review the market. The remarks from Falih suggest big changes in the supply cut agreement look unlikely for now.
Asked if India, a major consumer, would be happy with oil at $80 a barrel, Falih said no specific price was aimed for, and he was concerned about declining output in some producing countries and a lack of investment in new supplies.
“There is no such thing as a target price by Saudi Arabia,” he said. “We’re seeing many regions declining. The only way to offset this is for the financial markets to start financing and funding upstream projects.”
“I don’t know what is the price that will provide that equilibrium. All we know is in 2018 we’re still not seeing that.”
Saudi Arabia will not let another oil supply glut form, energy minister Khalid Al-Falih says
Saudi Arabia will not let another oil supply glut form, energy minister Khalid Al-Falih says
Arab food and beverage sector draws $22bn in foreign investment over 2 decades: Dhaman
JEDDAH: Foreign investors committed about $22 billion to the Arab region’s food and beverage sector over the past two decades, backing 516 projects that generated roughly 93,000 jobs, according to a new sectoral report.
In its third food and beverage industry study for 2025, the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corp., known as Dhaman, said the bulk of investment flowed to a handful of markets. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Morocco and Qatar attracted 421 projects — about 82 percent of the total — with capital expenditure exceeding $17 billion, or nearly four-fifths of overall investment.
Projects in those five countries accounted for around 71,000 jobs, representing 76 percent of total employment created by foreign direct investment in the sector over the 2003–2024 period, the report said, according to figures carried by the Kuwait News Agency.
“The US has been the region's top food and beverage investor over the past 22 years with 74 projects or 14 projects of the total, and Capex of approximately $4 billion or 18 percent of the total, creating more than 14,000 jobs,” KUNA reported.
Investment was also concentrated among a small group of multinational players. The sector’s top 10 foreign investors accounted for roughly 15 percent of projects, 32 percent of capital expenditure and 29 percent of newly created jobs.
Swiss food group Nestlé led in project count with 14 initiatives, while Ukrainian agribusiness firm NIBULON topped capital spending and job creation, investing $2 billion and generating around 6,000 jobs.
At the inter-Arab investment level, the report noted that 12 Arab countries invested in 108 projects, accounting for about 21 percent of total FDI projects in the sector over the past 22 years. These initiatives, carried out by 65 companies, involved $6.5 billion in capital expenditure, representing 30 percent of total FDI, and generated nearly 28,000 jobs.
The UAE led inter-Arab investments, accounting for 45 percent of total projects and 58 percent of total capital expenditure, the report added, according to KUNA.
The report also noted that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar topped the Arab ranking as the most attractive countries for investment in the sector in 2024, followed by Oman, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, and Kuwait.
Looking ahead, Dhaman expects consumer demand to continue rising. Food and non-alcoholic beverage sales across 16 Arab countries are projected to increase 8.6 percent to more than $430 billion by the end of 2025, equivalent to 4.2 percent of global sales, before exceeding $560 billion by 2029.
Sales are expected to remain highly concentrated geographically, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, the UAE and Iraq accounting for about 77 percent of the regional total. By product category, meat and poultry are forecast to lead with sales of about $106 billion, followed by cereals, pasta and baked goods at roughly $63 billion.
Average annual per capita spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages in the region is projected to rise 7.2 percent to more than $1,845 by the end of 2025, approaching the global average, and to reach about $2,255 by 2029. Household spending on these products is expected to represent 25.8 percent of total expenditure in 13 Arab countries, above the global average of 24.2 percent.
Arab external trade in food and beverages grew more than 15 percent in 2024 to $195 billion, with exports rising 18 percent to $56 billion and imports increasing 14 percent to $139 billion. Brazil was the largest foreign supplier to the region, exporting $16.5 billion worth of products, while Saudi Arabia ranked as the top Arab exporter at $6.6 billion.
