Page 30 - Vol. 39-No.4 issue

OMAN AGRICULTURE UPDATE

OMAN AGRICULTURE MARKET ANALYSIS

The Omani agriculture market is project- ernment policies promoting local crop alone imported 65 ton of vegetables and
ed to register a CAGR of 2.4% during the production. The majority of Oman's local bananas to Oman to increase the availa-
forecast period. need for fruits, vegetables, and cereals is bility of agricultural produce in the local
• The increase in the adoption of ad- satisfied by imports. Therefore, the nation markets. In 2021, The LuLu Hypermarket
vanced farming technologies and conducive is working toward agricultural self-suffi- Oman opened a new store in Jalan Bani
government policies supporting domestic ciency by encouraging its farmers to use Bu Ali in the South Sharqiya Governorate.
crop production are some factors driving cutting-edge farming methods in order to This new store will further strengthen the
the country's market growth. Through decrease import dependency. According to group’s presence in the country. It will offer
imports, Oman meets its domestic fruits, the Official Oman eGovernment Services customers a new level of standard in price,
vegetables, and cereals demand. Therefore, Portal, to attract more agricultural invest- convenience, comfort, quality in-store ser-
to reduce import dependency, the coun- ments, concerned parties in the govern- vice levels, and a new shopping experience.
try aims for self-sufficiency in agricultural ment provide many incentives. For instance,
products by encouraging its farmers to if the agricultural project is located in the
adopt advanced farming techniques. governorate of Muscat (except Quriyat),
Oman Development Bank will lend up to
• Agricultural production in Oman con- 100% of the capital. Approximately 130%
sists mainly of dates, vegetables, and fruits, of the capital paid is supplied if the project
while other crops are cultivated at lesser is constructed outside of the Quriyat or
volumes. According to world bank statis- Muscat governorates.
tics, the total amount of agricultural land
in Oman was about 1.4 million hectares Furthermore, to install contemporary
in 2020, which accounted for 4.7% of irrigation systems in gardens, the coun-
the total land area. Fruits like bananas and try's agricultural Ministry offers monetary
papaya are also grown in coastal regions, and synthetic loans, Exempting business- Oman Investment Authority announced a
which accounted for 18,447 ton and 5,840 es from paying income tax on projects new project to market vegetables and fruits
ton of production, respectively, in 2020. involving agricultural output. The exemp- in the country under the newly incorporated
Additionally, Oman increased its barley, tion is valid for five years following the company Oman Food Investment Holding
sorghum, and wheat production in recent production date and may be extended for Company. Under this project, retail out-
years. an additional five years. The government lets are likely to be established in densely
offers loans to customers willing to finance populated cities. In addition, SPAR opened
greenhouses, modern irrigation systems, a new store in the Ghala business district
agricultural tractors, agricultural nurser- in Muscat in 2020 as a part of its expan-
ies, date factories, and any other project sion strategy. This SPAR Supermarket has
or service within the agricultural sector in a total retail sales area of 710 sq. m. and
the country. These factors are increasing was designed in collaboration with SPAR
the agricultural contribution to the GDP International. The outlet is dedicated to
of the country. For instance, according to fresh agricultural products like fruits and
world bank statistics, the contribution of vegetables, fish, and meat, among other
agriculture to Oman's GDP has increased categories.
from 1.98 in 2017 to 2.56 in 2020. There- Thus, the increase in urbanization rates
fore, the increase in government initiatives and hypermarkets have also triggered the
• Moreover, the government launched to support the agricultural sector in the
several initiatives to encourage private country is expected to boost the growth demand for high-value processed agricul-
sector production, such as updating reg- of the agriculture market. tural foods. Moreover, convenient logistics
ulations, providing low-interest loans, service provided by retail chains is changing
aiding domestic production, and running Well established Retail networks are the consumer demand patterns in the mar-
campaigns to increase the visibility of locally supporting growth of agriculture in ket studied in Oman. Hence, the changing
made products, which is expected to boost the country retail structure may influence consumer
the growth of agriculture in Oman during The distribution network and retail chains shopping behavior, likely boosting the ag-
the forecast period. relating to agriculture are expanding con- riculture market over the forecast period.
sistently in Oman. The Omani retail industry Oman Agriculture Market News
Oman Agriculture Market Trends is characterized by strong consumer de-
This section covers the major market mand, robust economic growth, distinct • July 2022: The Ministry of Agriculture,
trends shaping the Oman Agriculture demographic factors, and a high-end tech- Fisheries, and Water Resources (MAFWR)
Market according to our research experts: nology system that ensures better custom- announced that it would distribute free
seedlings to encourage Omani farmers
Government policies of the country to er service and efficient customer checks. to establish commercial model farms and
reduce import dependency The increasing presence of major retail- grow various types of fruits. It announced
Some of the reasons propelling the ers and supermarkets and their aggressive that farmers would be given seedlings of
market expansion in the nation include import strategies result in better access to mango and Omani lemon for free, while
the rise in the adoption of cutting-edge many fruits and vegetables for the Omani seedlings of other fruits would be given
farming technologies and favorable gov- population at comparatively cheaper rates. at a nominal price.
For instance, In 2017, Lulu Hypermarkets
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