Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Food security

Amirah al-Turkistani, a graphic design lecturer at Jeddah International College, shops with her children and husband at a supermarket in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, February 3, 2018. REUTERS/Reem Baeshen SEARCH "BAESHEN WOMEN" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

What a plunging dollar means to Gulf imports and inflation

The dollar’s slump to multiyear lows against many major currencies risks raising import costs in the dollar-pegged Gulf economies, fuelling inflation and pressuring business profitability, analysts say. From mid-January, the dollar is down 11 percent against each of the euro (to its lowest in more than three years), the Japanese yen (its lowest since late 2023), […]

The Jeddah factory, a joint venture between HPDC and BRF, will produce 40,000 tonnes of processed food a year

PIF food unit builds Jeddah factory with Brazilian partner

Halal Products Development Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Brazilian food processor BRF have started constructing a processed-food factory in Jeddah. The factory is being developed by the joint venture BRF Arabia Holding Company at a cost of $160 million, BRF said in a statement. Established in 2023, the venture […]

A sushi production line at Turkey's Kocaman Fisheries. The company exports to 30 countries and will soon be sending its sushi products to the Gulf region

Turkish fish processors adapt as taste for sushi grows

Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings. Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than […]

US senator Chuck Schumer pictured in New York last month speaking to the media about egg prices. Turkey exported 200,000 tonnes of eggs to 55 countries in 2024

Turkey meets US egg demand with increased exports

Turkish producers are redirecting egg exports to the US in response to an outbreak of avian flu which is crippling the US poultry sector.  The increased US sales could mean Gulf countries will shell out more for their breakfast staple. The Turkish government has given egg producers approval to increase US sales, with the packaged […]

More cold storage will be central in helping the UAE meet its domestic food production goals

Massive investment in cold storage needed in UAE

The UAE is racing to meet a substantial shortfall in cold storage space that will be essential if the country’s food security goals are to be met, real estate analysts say. At least 125,000 square metres of additional space are needed to bring the country up to the required capacity, according to Harish Rajagopalan, director […]

A poultry market in Najran, Saudi Arabia. “Poultry, being the cheapest source of protein, always gets the highest attention,” says Entaj CEO Raja Alharbi

IPO for Saudi poultry producer Entaj off to a flying start

The initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Arabian poultry producer Entaj is already oversubscribed, barely 24 hours after the book-building exercise began. Starting the exercise on Sunday and pricing the shares at between SAR46 and SAR50 each, the books were covered “within hours”, CEO Raja Alharbi told AGBI. The IPO could raise more than SAR450 […]

The Middle East's coffee market is projected to reach $11.5 billion in 2025

Middle Eastern coffee market expected to hit $11bn

The price of your half-caff, soya milk, extra hot with a pump of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon is likely to go up this year, as the cost of coffee is set to increase by as much as one fifth. The Middle Eastern coffee market alone is projected to reach $11.5 billion in 2025, […]

saudi livestock city slaughterhouse

Middle East’s biggest ‘livestock city’ set for Saudi province

A SAR9 billion ($2.4 billion) plan to develop the largest “livestock city” in the Middle East has been announced by the Saudi Eastern Province city of Hafr Al Batin. The project, which is expected to provide 30 percent of Saudi Arabia’s demand for red meat, was announced at the Hafr Al Batin Investment Forum 2025 […]

EDB food wheat farm sharjah

EDB hails $305m in financing for agriculture businesses

One dirham in 12 lent by Emirates Development Bank in the past three years has gone into financing for agriculture technology and food production businesses, the bank said on Thursday. EDB said the AED1.12 billion ($305 million) of loans represent 8 percent of the AED14.72 billion of financing it has provided since April 2021.  It […]

Animal, Bird, Chicken

Almarai to foray into food segments beyond dairy

Almarai, the largest dairy producer in Saudi Arabia, will launch seafood and red meat facilities to help achieve the Vision 2030 goal of becoming food self-reliant. The company is building domestic production facilities for seafood and beef and lamb, which will become operational in two years, Bloomberg reported, citing CEO Abdullah Albader. In March, Almarai […]

Approximately 70 percent of the total seafood consumed in the UAE is currently imported, with the total volume of salmon imports alone amounting to 10 thousand tonnes per year

UAE’s ADQ to explore building land-based fish farm

ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, has signed an agreement with a Finnish aquaculture technology company to explore the feasibility of developing a land-based fish farming facility. Finnforel will collaborate with ADQ on the fish farm that could have a capacity of producing three thousand tonnes per year.  The farm will cultivate rainbow trout, […]

A farmer in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. The agriculture sector was worth $29bn in 2023

Down on the farm, Saudi Arabia has a $9.8bn hole to fill

The Saudi government is stepping up efforts to attract investors to its agriculture sector after identifying a funding gap of SAR37 billion ($9.8 billion). The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture says there are investment opportunities in plant and animal production, as well as fisheries, processing, manufacture of agricultural products and infrastructure development. Saudi Arabia […]

UAE food exports farmland

Food exports from UAE climb 20% in six months

Food and beverage exports from the UAE rose by almost 20 percent during the first half of 2024, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) has revealed.  The organisation predicted that food exports would “surge” to $38.3 billion (AED141 billion) this year.  The ADCCI gave no figure for last year, but according to the […]

Company executives laying the foundation stone for the new frozen fries factory in Riyadh

Americana to invest $100m in Saudi French fries factory

A subsidiary of fast-food brand operator Americana will invest SAR375 million ($100 million) in a greenfield frozen French fries manufacturing plant in Riyadh. The new processing factory will be set up in Sudair Industrial and Business City as a collaboration between Agricultural Growth and Processing Company, an Americana unit, and Egypt-based potato processing company Farm […]

Left to right: Ahmad Hammoud, general manager of Alesca UAE; Maan Said of Crysp Farms; Stuart Oda of Alesca Technologies

UAE food companies aim to stack up 500 vertical farms

Two UAE companies have signed a deal to roll out 500 vertical farms across the Middle East.  Crysp Farms, which provides vertical farms to hotels and resorts, has made the five-year agreement with agtech business Alesca Technologies.  The companies said the partnership would “significantly improve the efficiency of vertical farming” and provide more than 130 […]

Olives being harvested in the Eceabat region of northwestern Turkey

Turkey’s olive growers mine liquid gold

Turkey is likely to set a new record for olive oil output this year, as millions of new trees planted in a drive to expand supply reach maturity. The crop should consolidate the country’s position as the one of the world’s largest olive oil producers.  This year, Turkey is on course to produce around 475,000 […]

Saffron being cultivated in the province of Eskişehir, Turkey. The country does not currently grow enough to meet its own needs

Saffron adds spice to Turkey’s agriculture offering

Turkey is hoping an age-old product, saffron spice, will boost the value of its agriculture sector.  A new project aims to double the area of saffron under cultivation to meet domestic demand and form the basis for exports in the rare and valuable spice.  Saffon-A Tarim AŞ, a private sector company, has begun harvesting 100 […]