GCC food industry investments reach $18bn

The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) revealed that the number of GCC food industry firms increased from 1,602 in 2009 to 1,857 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 3.8 percent.
Investments for the same period of time jumped from 12.4 billion to $ 18.1 billion, a cumulative growth rate of 10 percent for five years. In addition, the work force increased from about 149,000 workers in 2009 to approximately 196,000 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 7 percent.
GOIC Secretary-General Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al-Ageel opined that food industries are becoming increasingly important to GCC countries in light of their key role in achieving Gulf food security. In fact, food industries are essential to manufacturing activities in GCC countries, for this sector’s share of the total number of manufacturing firms is 4.9 percent, its share of the total funds invested is 4.9 percent and of the total workforce in manufacturing industries 14.2 percent.
Food industries include several industrial activities according to the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC). These activities are listed in what follows: Processing and preserving of meat, processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats, manufacture of dairy products, manufacture of grain mill products, manufacture of starches and starch products, manufacture of bakery products, manufacture of sugar, manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery, manufacture of macaroni, noodles, couscous and similar farinaceous products, manufacture of prepared meals and dishes, manufacture of other food products, manufacture of prepared animal feeds, manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled waters and the manufacture of tobacco products.

Processing and preserving of meat and fish
IMI Plus figures revealed that this sector’s share of food industries in 2013 was nearly 11 percent of the firms, 8.9 percent of the investments and 10.3 percent of the work force.
The number of factories operating in this area jumped from 169 in 2009 to 204 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 4.8 percent. Investments increased from $1.170 billion to $1,6 billion for the same period, a cumulative growth rate of 8.2 percent. Work force increased from 15,993 workers in 2009 to 20,182 workers in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 6 percent.

Processing and preserving of fruits and vegetables
This section includes processing and preserving vegetables, preserving olives in salt or oil, preserving fruits and processing potatoes. GOIC figures revealed that this sector’s share in 2013 was around 11 percent of the total number of firms, 4.6 percent of the total investments and 6.2 percent of the work force.
The number of firms working in this area increased from 174 in 2009 to 204 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 4.1 percent. Investments for the same period of time dropped from $ 871 million to $828 million, a cumulative decline rate of -1.3 percent. The number of workers increased from 11,568 in 2009 to 12,191 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 1.3 percent.

Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats
IMI Plus figures revealed that this sector’s share of the food industry business in 2013 was around 2 percent of the total number of firms, 3.6 percent of the total investments and 2.8 percent of the work force.
This sector’s firms increased from 32 in 2009 to 38 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 4.4 percent. Investments rose from $ 511 million to $ 646 million for the same period of time, a cumulative growth rate of 6 percent for five years. The number of workers increased from 3,198 in 2009 to 5,558 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 14.8 percent.

Manufacture of dairy products
This sector’s share of the food industry business in 2013 was around 7.4 percent of the total number of firms, 16.8 percent of the total investments, 16 percent of the total work force. The number of factories dropped from 153 in 2009 to 138 in 2013, a cumulative decline rate of -2.5 percent. Investments developed from 1955 million to $ 3,038 million, a cumulative growth rate of 11.6 percent for five years. The number of workers increased from 24,584 in 2009 to 31,283 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 6.2 percent.

Manufacture of grain mill products, bakery products and macaroni
This sector was ranked first in terms of number of firms and investments according to GOIC’s statistics. Its share in 2013 was around 25.5 percent of the firms, 25.6 percent of the investments and 18.8 percent of the work force.
The number of factories in this sector jumped from 373 in 2009 to 420 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 2.9 percent, investments grew from $3,415 million to $4,629 million for the same period of time, a cumulative growth rate of 7.9 percent, and the number of workers increased from 31,873 to 36,847, a cumulative growth rate of 3.7 percent for the same period of time.