The UAE leads the Arab world in investment in the food and beverage sector

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Kuwait, December 28 / WAM / The Arab Corporation for Investment and Export Credit Guarantee “Daman” confirmed that the UAE topped the Arab countries in investing in intra-Arab projects in the food and beverage sector, with a share amounting to 45% of the total number of intra-Arab projects, and 58% of their total investment cost.

The Foundation revealed that the food and beverage sector in the Arab region attracted 516 foreign projects, at an investment cost of approximately $22 billion, and these projects provided about 93,000 jobs during the period from January 2003 to December 2024.

The Foundation explained, in its third sectoral report for the year 2025 on the food and beverage sector in the Arab countries, which it issued today from its headquarters in the State of Kuwait, that five Arab countries, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Morocco and Qatar, attracted during the same period 421 foreign projects, with a share of 82% of the total, and an investment cost exceeding 17 billion dollars, and a share of 79% of the total. These projects also provided about 71 thousand jobs, including It represents 76% of total jobs.

The report, which focuses on four main axes: “Sales until 2029, Arab foreign trade for 2024, foreign projects in the sector (2003-2024), and assessment of investment and business risks in the sector for the year 2024,” added that the United States topped the list of countries investing in the Arab region in the food and beverage sector during the past 22 years, with 74 projects, representing 14% of the total, with a value of approximately 4 billion. dollars, with a share of 18% of the total investments, and these projects provided more than 14 thousand jobs.

The report indicated that the top ten foreign companies investing in the sector account for about 15% of the number of foreign projects, 32% of the investment cost, and 29% of the total new jobs. The Swiss company Nestlé topped the list in terms of the number of projects with 14 projects, while the Ukrainian company Nebulon topped the list as the largest investor in terms of the estimated investment cost of two billion dollars, and the number of jobs amounted to 6 thousand jobs.

At the level of intra-Arab investment in the sector, the report indicated that 12 Arab countries invested in 108 intra-Arab projects, representing about 21% of the total foreign projects in the sector over 22 years, implemented by 65 companies, and their investment cost exceeded $6.5 billion, representing about 30% of the total cost of foreign projects in the sector, and it also provided about 28 thousand job opportunities. The UAE topped the list with a 45% share of the total number of inter-agency projects, and a 58% share of their total investment cost.

Regarding the risks and incentives of investment and business in the food and beverage sector in 14 Arab countries, which were monitored through two indicators to evaluate risks and incentives according to Fitch, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar came at the top of the Arab rankings as the most attractive Arab countries for investment in the sector during the year 2024, followed by the Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco and Kuwait, respectively.

The report suggested that sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages in the Arab region (16 countries) would rise by 8.6% to exceed $430 billion by the end of 2025, representing 4.2% of the global total, with expectations that these sales would exceed $560 billion by 2029.

The report indicated that there is a large geographical concentration in the sector’s sales in the Arab region, as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, the Emirates, and Iraq accounted for about 77% of those total sales by the end of 2025. In terms of distribution by product type, meat and poultry products came in the lead with a share of approximately 27% of total food sales in 16 Arab countries, reaching a value of about $106 billion by the end of 2025, followed by grain, pasta, and bakery products worth $63 billion, with a share of 16%.

The report also showed an increase in the annual average per capita spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages in the Arab region by 7.2%, to exceed $1,845 by the end of 2025, approaching the global average of $2,048, with expectations that this average will continue to rise to reach about $2,255 by the end of 2029.

The report expected that the Arab average share of spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages of total household spending in Arab countries (13 countries) would rise to reach 25.8% by the end of 2025, exceeding the global average of 24.2%.

Regarding Arab countries’ foreign trade in food and non-alcoholic beverages, the report indicated that it has increased at a rate of more than 15% to reach about 195 billion dollars in 2024, of which five countries, namely the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Morocco, accounted for 70%, as a result of the increase in Arab exports of food and non-alcoholic beverages by about 18% to about 56 billion dollars, and imports by 14% to about 139 billion dollars during the same year.

The report added that the top ten countries exporting to the Arab region accounted for about 53% of the total imports of food and non-alcoholic beverages, with a value amounting to $73.5 billion, and Brazil topped the list as the largest exporter to the region with a value of $16.5 billion and a share of 12% of the total. On the other hand, the list of the top ten countries importing from the region accounted for 60% of the total Arab exports of food and non-alcoholic beverages with a value of $33.5 billion, with Saudi Arabia topping the list as the largest importer from the region with a value of $6.6 billion and a share of 12% of the total Arab exports.