LOC14:20
11:20 GMT
KUWAIT, Dec 28 (KUNA) -- The Arab region's food and beverage sector attracted 516 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with Capex of USD 22 billion and 93,000 jobs between January 2003 and December 2024, said Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) Sunday.
In its third sectoral report for 2025 on the Arab food and beverage sector, Dhaman said that five Arab countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco and Qatar attracted 421 FDI projects, making up 82 percent of the total, with Capex of more than USD 17 billion, or 79 percent. These projects created 71,000 jobs, accounting for 76 percent of the total.
The U.S. has been the region's top food and beverage investor over the past 22 years with 74 projects or 14 projects of the total, and Capex of approximately four billion US dollars or 18 percent of the total, creating more than 14,000 jobs, it added.
The report showed that the food and beverage sector's top 10 foreign investors accounted for around 15 percent of FDI projects, 32 percent of Capex and 29 percent of total new jobs. Swiss Nestlأ© Company has been in the forefront with 14 projects, while Ukrainian NIBULON Company has ranked first in Capex and jobs with two billion US dollars and 6,000 jobs.
At the level of inter-Arab investment in the sector, it said that 12 Arab countries have invested in 108 inter-Arab projects, representing around 21 percent of total FDI projects in the sector over 22 years, implemented by 65 companies with Capex of USD 6.5 billion or 30 percent of total FDI projects in the sector, and created nearly 28000 jobs. UAE topped the list with 45 percent of the total inter-Arab projects and 58 percent of Capex.
It added that UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar led the Arab ranking as the most attractive countries in view of investment in the sector during 2024, followed by Oman, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco and Kuwait respectively.
The report expected food and non-alcoholic beverage sales in the Arab region (16 countries) to surge by 8.6 percent to surpass USD 430 billion by the end of 2025, making up 4.2 percent of the global total, a figure which is projected to exceed USD 560 billion by 2029.
The report noted a significant geographical concentration of food and non-alcoholic beverage sales in the Arab region, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, UAE and Iraq having roughly 77 percent of total sales by the end of 2025.
Regarding product distribution, it said that meat and poultry topped the list with 27 percent of total food sales in 16 Arab countries, amounting to about USD 106 billion by the end of 2025, followed by cereals, pasta and baked goods with USD 63 billion, making up 16 percent.
The report also showed that the Arab region's average annual spending per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages is likely to increase by 7.2 percent to exceed USD 1,845 by the end of 2025, thus approaching the global figure of USD 2,048. It is expected to keep going up to around USD 2,255 by the end of 2029.
It expected the average Arab expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages to hit 25.8 percent of total household expenditure in Arab countries (13 countries), exceeding the global average of 24.2 percent.
Concerning Arab external trade in food and non-alcoholic beverages, it indicated that it increased by more than 15 percent to approximately USD 195 billion in 2024, with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Morocco accounting for 70 percent, due to a hike in Arab food and non-alcoholic exports by 18 percent to USD 56 billion and imports by 14 percent to USD 139 billion during the same year.
The report added that the top 10 exporting countries to the region accounted for around 53 percent of its food and non-alcoholic beverage imports at a value of USD 73.5 billion, with Brazil leading with USD 16.5 billion or 12 percent of the total. Comparatively, the top 10 importing countries from the region made up 60 percent of total Arab food and non-alcoholic beverage exports at a value of USD 33.5 billion. Saudi Arabia came first as the region's top importer with USD 6.6 billion or 12 percent of overall Arab exports.
Based in Kuwait, the Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) was established in 1974 as a multilateral institution that comprises all Arab countries and four joint Arab financial institutions.
It provides specialized insurance services against credit and political risks with a view to facilitating the inflow of foreign direct investments into Arab countries and promoting Arab exports and imports. (end)
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