UAE tops Arab region in food, beverage sector investment

Kuwait: The Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) revealed that the Arab region’s food and beverage sector attracted 516 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with Capex of $22 billion and 93000 jobs between January 2003 and December 2024.

In its third sectoral report for 2025 on the Arab food and beverage sector, issued at its headquarters in the State of Kuwait today, Dhaman said that five Arab countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco and Qatar, attracted 421 FDI projects, making up 82 per cent of the total, with Capex of more than $17 billion, or 79 per cent. These projects created 71000 jobs, accounting for 76 per cent of the total.

The report is based on four main pillars: 1- Sales until 2029, 2- Arab foreign trade for 2024, 3- FDI projects (2003-2024), 4- Assessment of the sector’s investment and business risks in 2024. It showed that the US has been the region’s top food and beverage investor over the past 22 years with 74 projects or 14 per cent of the total, and Capex of approximately $4 billion or 18 per cent of the total, creating more than 14000 jobs.

The report showed that the food and beverage sector’s top 10 foreign investors accounted for around 15 per cent of FDI projects, 32 per cent of Capex and 29 per cent of total new jobs. Swiss Nestlé Company has been in the forefront with 14 projects, while Ukrainian NIBULON Company has ranked first in Capex and jobs with $2 billion and 6000 jobs.

At the level of inter-Arab investment in the sector, it said that 12 Arab countries have invested in 108 inter-Arab projects, representing around 21 percent of total FDI projects in the sector over 22 years, implemented by 65 companies with Capex of $6.5 billion or 30 per cent of total FDI projects in the sector, and created nearly 28000 jobs. UAE topped the list with 45 per cent of the total inter-Arab projects and 58 per cent of Capex.

Regarding risks and rewards for business and investment in food and beverages in 14 Arab countries, monitored by Fitch Ratings’ risk and reward indicators, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar led the Arab ranking as the most attractive countries in view of investment in the sector during 2024, followed by Oman, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco and Kuwait respectively.

The report expected food and non-alcoholic beverage sales in the Arab region (16 countries) to surge by 8.6 per cent to surpass $430 billion by the end of 2025, making up 4.2 per cent of the global total, a figure which is projected to exceed $560 billion by 2029.

The report noted a significant geographical concentration of food and non-alcoholic beverage sales in the Arab region, with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, UAE and Iraq having roughly 77 per cent of total sales by the end of 2025. Regarding product distribution, it said that meat and poultry topped the list with 27 per cent of total food sales in 16 Arab countries, amounting to about $106 billion by the end of 2025, followed by cereals, pasta and baked goods with $63 billion, making up 16 per cent.

The report also showed that the Arab region’s average annual spending per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages is likely to increase by 7.2 per cent to exceed $1,845 by the end of 2025, thus approaching the global figure of $2048. It is expected to keep going up to around $2255 by the end of 2029.

It expected the average Arab expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages to hit 25.8 per cent of total household expenditure in Arab countries (13 countries), exceeding the global average of 24.2 per cent.

Concerning Arab external trade in food and non-alcoholic beverages, it indicated that it increased by more than 15 per cent to approximately $195 billion in 2024) with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Morocco accounting for 70 per cent (due to a hike in Arab food and non-alcoholic exports by 18 per cent to $56 billion and imports by 14 per cent to $139 billion during the same year.

The report added that the top 10 exporting countries to the region accounted for around 53 per cent of its food and non-alcoholic beverage imports at a value of $73.5 billion, with Brazil leading with $16.5 billion or 12 per cent of the total. Comparatively, the top 10 importing countries from the region made up 60 per cent of total Arab food and non-alcoholic beverage exports at a value of $33.5 billion. Saudi Arabia came first as the region’s top importer with $6.6 billion or 12 per cent of overall Arab exports.