Ministry of Industry says Saudi Arabia holds SAR 87 bln investments in food industries

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Saudi Arabia has around SAR 87 billion worth of investments in the food industries sector, representing 8% of the Kingdom’s total investments in the industrial sector, according to the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.

Food industries plants represent 11% of the Kingdom’s total number of factories and provide more than 82,000 job opportunities.

A report by the National Information Center (NIC) showed that Saudi Arabia has 1,121 factories of food industries as of Q1 2021. Also, the number of industrial licenses increased 61% year-on-year (YoY) in 2020, while the activities portfolio grew 9% YoY in Q1 2021.

The NIC report also showed that the food industries plants were mostly in three regions that fulfilled the local demand across the Kingdom.

Local investments accounted for 90% of the total investments in the food industries sector, while the remaining 10% went for foreign investments. Additionally, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 88% of the total number of factories in the food industries sector.