Agriculture Saudi fishing industry bolstered by support plan Saudi Arabia’s fishing industry has landed a financial support programme from the government as part of plans to develop and safeguard the sector. Fish production in the kingdom increased 80 percent in 2023 year on year to 214,600 metric tonnes. The goal is to increase that by 7 percent to 230,000 tonnes this year. The […] July 16, 2024
Analysis Agriculture Balancing the scales of Morocco’s food exports Free trade access to the EU and UK markets, and a longer – or at least different – growing season mean that Moroccan farmers are producing bumper exports that are helping to reshape the country’s economy around agriculture. However, those exports are drawing criticism from those who believe the country should prioritise its citizens’ own […] July 11, 2024
Agriculture Bids open for Saudi ‘coffee city’ in production drive Saudi Arabia has opened bids for coffee producers to acquire lots in an area of the southwestern Al-Baha region that is intended to be the country’s first “coffee city”. The country aims to become a major coffee producer alongside the likes of Brazil. The area set aside for coffee bush planting is in the mountainous […] July 4, 2024
Analysis Infrastructure Morocco struggles to solve its water crisis A seawater desalination plant that opened last month at Sidi Rahal near Casablanca is a major part of Morocco’s plans to tackle the country’s frightening decrease in water supplies. The plant will be built in two phases and is designed to produce 300 million cubic metres of water a year to supply 7.5 million people, […] July 1, 2024
Analysis Agriculture Weather and politics keep pressure on price of rice The status of rice as a global food staple means that it is also a political minefield for producer nations. So all eyes are on India as rice prices fluctuate at around a 15-year high. Different varietals and markets command different prices, but trading on “contracts for difference”, which track benchmark prices, saw the cost of […] June 27, 2024
Opinion Agriculture Arab states must raise intra-trade to buffer against food shocks Gulf producers are neglecting their own farming potential June 24, 2024
Agriculture Drought pushes up sheep price for Eid in Morocco The price for a sheep in Morocco for the annual sacrifice at Eid al-Adha has increased on average at 10 times the 2.2 percent rate of inflation. A medium-sized female sheep costs MAD4000 ($400) as opposed to MAD3000 last year. This puts it out of range for many families in the country where a high […] June 17, 2024
Agriculture Oman to build agricultural city to enhance food security Oman will build an agricultural city as part of its food security initiative, a news report said. Saham Agricultural City will cover an area of 65 sq km, with 70 percent dedicated to agriculture and 30 percent to urban development, Oman Daily Observer reported. The city will use advanced technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics and […] June 17, 2024
Analysis Finance Agriculture startups failing to cultivate VC interest Agriculture technology founders in the Gulf are having to resort to alternative sources of funding, as interest from venture capital entities dries up. The region is following a global trend. Startups in so-called “agtech” cumulatively raised $1.2 billion across 161 deals in the first quarter of this year, down almost 26 percent and 20 percent […] June 10, 2024
Agriculture Citrus produce helps Egypt agricultural exports rise The value of Egypt’s agricultural exports in the first five months of 2024 rose 24 percent year on year, following greater land allocation for produce such as oranges and potatoes. The minister of agriculture and land reclamation, Mohamed Al Sayed Al Quseir, told reporters on Thursday that more than 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce, […] June 7, 2024
Agriculture Turkey and World Bank unite to combat wildfires Turkey has launched a $400 million project with the World Bank to protect the country from wildfires. The Turkey Climate Resilient Forests Project will strengthen the country’s ability to protect people and property from the fires. Almost 230,000 hectares of Turkey’s forests were damaged or destroyed completely between 2012 and 2021, with more than 61 […] May 31, 2024
Industry Qatar signs 15-year urea supply pact with US company Qatar, the world’s second-largest exporter of urea, has signed a long-term urea supply agreement with US-based Koch Fertilizer. The 15-year agreement, starting in July, will lead to the supply of up to 0.74 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of urea, state-backed QatarEnergy said in a statement. Locally manufactured urea will be supplied to the agricultural […] May 27, 2024
Sustainability $4bn set aside for Saudi water projects Saudi Arabia will spend $4 billion by the end of the decade on recycling over 2 billion cubic metres of water, about 70 percent of the country’s renewable water sources, an official said this week. Speaking at the World Water Forum in Indonesia, Mohammed bin Zaid Abuhid, head of the General Authority for Irrigation, outlined […] May 23, 2024
Economy Egyptian agricultural exports hit record levels Egypt exported a record 7.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce last year, compared with 6.4 million tonnes in 2022 and 5.6 million in 2021. The total value of agricultural exports in 2023 was $8.8 billion, according to minister of agriculture and land reclamation Al Sayed Al Quseir. Egypt’s total number of export partners has increased […] May 22, 2024
Agriculture Tunisia’s honey production hit by global warming Almost three-quarters of beekeepers in Tunisia have seen their honey production curtailed by climate change. The North African country has 305,000 hives tended by 13,000 beekeepers, according to Hassene Ben Salem, chief engineer at the Office of Livestock and Pastures. But he said extreme weather conditions have almost halved honey production, from an average of […] May 22, 2024
Agriculture PIF unit launches first Saudi coffee producer Saudi Arabia’s coffee exports are poised for major uplift as a unit of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, received approval to set up the country’s first coffee-production unit. The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu President Khalid Al-Salem granted the Saudi Coffee Company a license to establish a coffee-production factory […] May 9, 2024
Renewable Energy Mubadala to invest $13.5bn in sustainable biofuels in Brazil Mubadala Capital is to invest $13.5 billion in biofuels in Brazil. Its chief investment officer and head of Brazil Oscar Fahlgren told the Financial Times that the scheme to produce renewable diesel and aviation kerosene using mainly non-food plant matter is “a very important capital project”. Mubadala is the second-biggest sovereign wealth fund in Abu […] May 6, 2024
INTERVIEW Agriculture Emirates Development Bank to focus on farmers, says CEO Emirates Development Bank is prioritising food security this year, its CEO has told AGBI, and has billions of dirhams ready to lend to the UAE’s farmers. Food security is one of the five funding pillars of the state-owned EDB, which provides loans and resources to large corporations, SMEs and startups. The bank has a mandate […] April 30, 2024
Agriculture Baladna lines up $3.5bn Algerian dairy venture Baladna, the largest dairy food producer in Qatar, is exploring plans for a $3.5 billion venture in Algeria that will be based on a herd of more than a quarter of a million dairy cows. The company has signed a framework agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to set up what […] April 29, 2024
Manufacturing Saudi Arabia’s food factory count rises to 1,300 The total number of food factories operated by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) has reached 1,300, across 36 cities. The increase signifies the growing capacity of the domestic food industry and its localisation efforts, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. Food industry companies have recorded a growth rate of more […] April 24, 2024
Agriculture Agricultural robotics centre planned for the UAE Khalifa University of Science and Technology and agri-food giant Silal plan to create a centre of excellence for farming robotics in the UAE. The proposed research centre, to be located at Silal’s Innovation Oasis site in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, will feature a dedicated autonomous greenhouse equipped with various robotic platforms, sensors and Internet of […] April 23, 2024
Food & Drink Saudi Arabia aims to double local honey production Saudi Arabia has invested SAR140 million ($37 million) to support its nascent rural honey industry, the government said this week. The country has raised subsidised production by 41 percent since 2021 and wants to double output by 2026. The Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program, known as Reef Saudi, said its funding supported over 10,500 people […] April 22, 2024
