Almarai Chairman sees poultry expansion to double market share in Saudi Arabia

Almarai CEO Abdullah Nasser Al Bader  

Almarai Co.’s expansion in the poultry business will double its share in the Saudi market, Al Arabiya TV reported, citing company CEO Abdullah Nasser Al Bader.   

The company currently produces 225 million birds annually and focuses on fresh poultry production. 

The announced investments are to merge the first and second phases of the expansion project, which will contribute to accelerating the company's production capacity. 

He stated that Almarai’s strategy is based on expanding its current business in new segments, including poultry in 2009, since there were challenges in the industry, such as the culling of birds in a previous period. 

Almarai was able to overcome all the challenges and turn to profitability, he pointed out, affirming that the company's investments are linked to sustainability and continuity. 

He explained that a part of the company's investments will come from internal cash flows, adding Almarai has strong financial solvency that will support it in case of any financing need. 

According to data compiled by Argaam, Almarai Co. announced investing SAR 4.5 billion in Al-Shamli, Hail, to expand in poultry production. 

The new investments include establishing a new plant and farms in Hail to expand poultry production by above 150 million birds annually, or 130,000 tons of poultry products. 

The company's board of directors approved, on May 2, 2021, SAR 6.6 billion in capital investments to expand the poultry segment, with the aim of doubling its market share, according to Argaam's data.