Page 17 - AA 2022 YEAR BOOK

Editorial

GCC FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKET - GROWTH, TRENDS

AND FORECAST (2022 - 2027)

Market Overview such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emir-
ates, etc. are preferring healthier and
Although the retail sale of fruits and more nutritious food, containing high-
vegetables in the region increased due quality nutrition which in turn is driving
to consumer preferences toward con- the market.
suming healthy diets to boost immunity,
the supply chain and production got INCREASED
disrupted in terms of export and import ACCESSIBILITY DUE TO
trade movements during the COVID-19
pandemic across all the GCC countries. PRESENCE OF MORE
The wholesale market of fruits and veg- RETAIL CHAIN motional offers given to customers. Al-
etables also got disrupted due to lesser though only a few companies have major
demand from the bulk purchasers be- The local distribution and retail net- markets, new small retail and indepen-
longing to hotels, restaurants, and tour- work has flourished rapidly in the ma- dent supermarket stores are growing at
ism industries due to the closure and jor parts of the GCC, especially in Saudi a faster rate.
lockdown restrictions brought into place Arabia, United Arab Emirates among
by the respective governments. Most of others, in the past few
the countries in the GCC region are not years. Most of the fruits Tomatoes Production in the Arab Countries
self-sufficient, in terms of fruits and veg- and vegetables demand in (2019-2020)
etables. Hence, the countries are mostly the country is met through Area 2019 Flag 2020 Flag
dependent on imports, in order to satiate imports from other coun- Algeria 1477878 1635616
their domestic demands. However, smart tries, hence the distri- Bahrain 6800 Im 6557 Im
Comoros
674
678
Im
farming practices, like hydroponics, bution channel is very Djibouti 1823 Im 1846 Im
have been serving as a vital alternative strong. Supermarkets and Egypt 6814460 6731220 Im
for traditional farming in most countries hypermarkets have been Iraq 619543 754759
such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab propping up, and with Jordan 496216 593166 Im
Kuwait
Im
127755
132222
Emirates, and Kuwait among others. This their superior distribu- Lebanon 271422 Im 270716 Im
increase in the adoption of new farming tion channel and in-store Libya 217176 Im 218205 Im
technologies is primarily attributed to a equipment, the shelf-life Morocco 1347085 1398831
Oman
340228
201293
reduction in the dependence on the im- of fresh produce has in- Palestine 120137 Im 116683 Im
port market thereby resulting in signifi- creased, thus enabling Qatar 28309 31817
cant growth of the market. greater consumption of Saudi Arabia 332608 Im 351212 Im
Somalia
23277
23210
INCREASED DEMAND fresh produce among con- Sudan 676730 Im 692055 Im
sumers. The majority of
771649
780617
Syrian Arab Republic
FOR FRUITS the consumption of fresh Tunisia 1534000 1423000
produce in the countries United Arab Emirates 60081 43121 Im
According to the Food and Agriculture is accounted for through Yemen 103599 Im 94399 Im
Organization, the fruits produced in the supermarkets and hy- Im: FAO data based on imputation methodology
majority of the countries dominated the permarkets. Hence, the Source: FAO Statistical Division 2021
market over the years. Among all the distribution of fruits and
countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United vegetables is better facili- Sunf ower seed Production in the Arab Countries
Arab Emirates, and Kuwait were the ma- tated through partnerships (2019-2020)
jor producers of fruits. The total fruits with local supermarkets
production accounted for 3,195,046 met- and hypermarket chains, Area 2019 Flag Value Flag
ric tons in Saudi Arabia in 2019 whereas, like LuLu Group, LVMH, Algeria 83 Im 82 Im
the vegetable production accounted for Fu-Com, and others. The Egypt 21250 22000 *
638,690 metric tons. Higher disposable leading retail chains in the Iraq 816 1909
incomes tend to make consumers shift region are Union Coop, Jordan M M
from a carbohydrate-based staple diet Carrefour, Geant Hyper- Lebanon M M
to a nutrition-rich diet. The rising level of market, Lulu Hypermar- Morocco 29456 22397
education and health awareness, among ket, and others. The retail Palestine 2 Im 2 Im
a major section of the population, is lead- store market in the country Sudan 107000 106009
ing to more fruits and vegetable inclu- is consolidated, and the Syrian Arab Republic 7577 6443
sive diets currently. Due to the increas- high market share of these Tunisia 6092 Im 5800 Im
ing awareness regarding health issues, outlets is due to the pro-
consumers from major countries in GCC, Im: FAO data based on imputation methodolog M : Data not available
Source: FAO Statistical Division 2021
Arab Agriculture 2022 15