Saudi Arabia: Food Processing Ingredients
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The Saudi food processing sector has been rapidly growing due to government support of food processers, rising per capita income and major demographic and socio-economic changes. These factors have supported an increase in the number of Saudi food processing companies, from 691 firms in 2005 to 938 firms in 2016. Investment in this sector increased by approximately 11 percent per year from 2007 to 2016, and reached $23 billion in 2016. Attractive investment conditions have lured some multinational corporations to establish production facilities in Saudi Arabia. Most Saudi food manufacturers depend on imports to secure their needs of food ingredients and raw materials. In 2016, Saudi Arabia imported about $2.345 billion worth of food ingredients for further processing. U.S. suppliers provided about 6 percent of these food processing products. Saudi Arabia exports a significant part of its processed food production, estimated at $1.22 billion in 2016, sharp decrease compared to approximately three billion exported in 2015.
