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Forecasts Reveal the Overall Growth Rate Of 37.1% To 2010 In Saudi Arabia's Mass Grocery Retail (MGR) Sales, With the Hypermarket Format Displaying the Strongest Growth Rate At 45.5%

Posted on: Thursday, 14 June 2007, 12:15 CDT

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c59782) has announced the addition of Saudi Arabia Food & Drink Report Q4 2006 to their offering.

Saudi Arabia Food & Drink Report provides independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Saudi Arabia's food & drink industry.

Agriculture and the country's food and drink trade deficit has once again come into the spotlight for Saudi Arabia as the government continues to demonstrate its commitment the to agricultural sector. As discussed in this newly published Saudi Arabia Food & Drink Report for Q406, the local press has been reporting that the government's agricultural policy is starting to bear fruit, as the sector has made some major strides and has begun to export both crops and agricultural products. According to these new government statistics, the kingdom now produces more than 1.2mn tons of milk and 167,000 tons of red meat as well as 67,000 tons of various types of seafood.

The industry should get a further boost from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which announced this quarter that it has approved US$60mn worth of funds for 14 projects which will provide technical support to Saudi Arabia's local development sectors over five years. These funds will go towards strengthening existing programmes, as well as funding new projects, which include improved water management, irrigated agriculture, and those that address the issues of small-scale farmers in rural areas. While the Riyadh-based FAO Coordination Office will oversee the new projects, they will be financed by the Saudi government.

While Saudi agriculture employs 12% of the country's workforce, it only accounts for 3.3% of annual GDP, which is negligible, even when considered separately from the huge oil trade. The governments focus on this sector is not without controversy, for it is already using 90% of Saudi Arabia's already low water supply, which is why critics are about the need for expansion when this will make only a marginally more significant contribution to exports. However, what these statistics do not reveal is that the sector is crucial to Saudi Arabia's economy in social terms, by providing a source of income for the country's rural population.

This also reflects the government's acknowledgment of the need to diversify the economy away from the oil industry. As the largest oil exporter in the world, Saudi Arabia has seen its economy buoyed by the oil price rally of the past few years and will continue to record strong fiscal and current account surpluses throughout the forecast period. Although the country has little need for foreign capital to their present record-breaking oil revenues, they are becoming increasingly interested in FDI for the benefits it brings in terms of knowledge transfers: marketable skills, technology and training. The country's recent WTO membership has helped bring about many of these required reforms and open up the economy, which has helped accelerate the rate of growth in Saudis food retail industry. We are currently forecasting an overall growth rate of 37.1% to 2010 in Saudi Arabia's mass grocery retail (MGR) sales, with the hypermarket format displaying the strongest growth rate at 45.5%.

Content Outline:

Executive Summary

Chapter 1 -- Business Environment

Chapter 2 -- Retail

Chapter 3 -- Food & Drink

Chapter 4 -- Tobacco

Chapter 5 -- Competitive Landscape

Companies Mentioned:

- A K Al Muhaidib and Sons Group -- Giant Stores

- Al Marai

- Arla Foods

- Aujan Industries

- Masafi

- Saudi Dairy and Foodstuffs Company -- SADAFCO

- Savola Group -- Al Azazia Panda

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c59782

Source: Business Wire

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