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The Caribbean Basin region continues to experience growth, driven primarily by the steady rise in tourism, which in turn impacts consumer demand.

The Saudi Arabian General Authority of Ports (Mawani), in coordination with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, announced its intention to require the use of pallets for all containerized cargo shipments to the Kingdom's ports.

The major export certificates required by Saudi Arabia’s regulatory and import control agencies are included in this Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) - Certificates Report.

Saudi Arabia is the dominant market in the Middle East region and offers export opportunities for U.S. exporters of bulk commodities and consumer-oriented products.

Evolving dietary preferences and a strong economy can pave the way for U.S. seafood and fish feed exports to meet domestic demand.

The Saudi Arabian pet market is growing - fueled by rising pet ownership driven by evolving social norms and increasing disposable income.

This report highlights the food processing industry, its drivers, key players, and market landscape in the Caribbean Basin. The region relies heavily on imports, and the United States is the largest supplier of food ingredients.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2025/26 are forecast to decline 10 percent to 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), due to projected high local production. Saudi barley imports for MY 2025/26 are projected to increase by 10 percent to 3.3 MMT compared to last MY.

The HRI sector is witnessing remarkable growth, fueled by urbanization, a surging population, rising disposable incomes, shifting social and cultural trends, and a thriving tourism industry. The Saudi food retail market, currently valued at $30 billion, is projected to grow by another $15 billion by 2030.

The ongoing transformation of Saudi Arabia bodes well for the retail food sector. In 2023, the Saudi food retail market was estimated at more than $51 billion and projected to increase by more than 5 percent annually in the coming years due to the continued urbanization, growing population, changing shopping habits, expansion of physical store locations , and increasing popularity of online platforms.

This is a regional report on West Africa that primarily covers Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali, but also provides brief overviews in certain sections for Niger, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Mauritania.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients. As a result, many retail packaged food importers do not import biotech foods due to concerns that biotech labeling could jeopardize their image.