SAUDI ARABIA ALONE ACCOUNTS FOR 60% OF TOTAL FOOD CONSUMPTION IN THE GCC REGION

The market is growing by over 5% a year with fruit and vegetables the most imported food.

It is estimated that the rise in food consumption in the GCC countries between 2012 and 2017 will be around 3.1% a year, reaching 49.1 million metric tons of food by the end of 2017, with Saudi Arabia accounting for more than 60% of total consumption in the region. This growth is attributed to rapid population growth in these countries, as well as tourists. In addition to an increase in income levels in the region, it is predicted that food consumption per capita will grow from 971.2 kg in 2015 to 983 kg in 2017.

Source: Eurofresh-distribution