RIYADH: Saudi food exports have grown by approximately 60 percent over the past four years, rising from SR13 billion ($3.4 billion) in 2021 to SR22 billion by the end of last year, according to Khalid Al-Shehri, vice president of the food sector at the National Industrial Development Center, who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper.
He confirmed that the number of factories in the Saudi food industry has reached approximately 1,900, with the number of companies growing monthly. The size of the Saudi food industry is estimated at around SR200 billion, making it the second largest industrial sector in the Kingdom in terms of employment.
He explained that Saudi Arabia’s industrial sectors have grown in recent years since the launch of the National Industrial Strategy, attracting more than SR28 billion in new investments from both local and international companies. The strategy aims to attract investments worth SR78 billion by 2035.
For his part, Majid Al-Argoubi, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities, or MODON, stated that Jeddah is home to four industrial cities housing more than 3,000 factories with an area exceeding 50 million sq. meters.
He added that the second and third industrial cities in Jeddah contain more than 1,700 existing factories, and several projects are underway to develop additional space as well as increase electrical and water capacity within the industrial cities. These initiatives aim to provide a competitive environment that will contribute to strengthening the sector and enhancing its competitiveness both locally and globally.
This came during a tour by Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, of the second and third industrial cities in Jeddah. The tour included visits to several local and international factories operating in the food and medical industries. The minister inaugurated the Siniora Food Industries Co. factory, which has an annual production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of chilled and frozen food, representing an investment of SR150 million.
Alkhorayef also visited the Seara Food Industries factory, a significant investment aimed at localizing food manufacturing in the Kingdom. The factory’s total investment, including the new expansion, reaches SR320 million, with an annual production capacity exceeding 30,000 tonnes of chilled and frozen food.
The minister also inaugurated the Advanced Pharmaceuticals factory, laid the foundation stone for the expansion of the Tamer Molnlycke Care factory, opened the administrative building of the Industrial Cities Authority, and visited the Binzagr Unilever and Jamjoom Medical Industries factories.
Al-Argoubi stated that the Jeddah Food Cluster, spanning 11 million sq. meters, was launched in November 2024.
Currently, work is underway to integrate the system through several projects, including laboratories and academies, as well as the ongoing development of cold and dry warehouses to serve the industrial sector.
More than 5 million sq. meters have already been developed to serve the Jeddah Food Cluster.
Regarding technologies and innovations in factories, he noted that the transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution is one of the solutions being offered by MODON to factories. The goal is to make automation a fundamental part of industrial processes. He pointed out that there is a program to support factories in transitioning to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and work will continue to achieve the objectives, which will contribute to job localization, create more employment opportunities, and develop the sector regionally and globally.
Al-Shehri explained that the food sector has attracted a range of foreign investments from companies operating in various sub-sectors, such as the Saudi poultry sector, which includes some of the world’s largest companies from Brazil and the US. He also mentioned the Brazilian company JBS, specializing in the meat sector, whose investments exceed SR350 million, as well as the infant formula sector and numerous other foreign companies.
He stated that the National Industrial Strategy has focused on empowering the food industry by establishing a number of food clusters.
Among the most important and largest of these is the Jeddah Food Cluster, which encompasses major projects and provides value-added services to manufacturers. He added that there are also clusters in the Royal Commission in Jazan and a dairy cluster in Al-Kharj. Al-Shehri indicated that the sector is poised to open several more clusters that will support its expansion and growth.
The food sector in Saudi Arabia has grown in recent years, with the Kingdom achieving high self-sufficiency rates in a number of food sectors.
Self-sufficiency in the poultry industry has reached 75 percent, in red meat 57 percent, and in fish 60 percent, in addition to achieving advanced levels in the milk and dairy industry and its derivatives.
The value of the food market in the country is estimated at more than SR200 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3 percent to reach SR214 billion by 2030.
