Saturday, December 04, 2010

Middle East demand for organic products growing
01 Dec 2010


JEDDAH: The potential of the Middle East's market for organic products is under-explored and the sector has immense growth opportunities with a predominant youth population in the region taking to healthier and more eco-friendly lifestyles, said organizers of the eighth edition of the Middle East Natural and Organic Product Expo 2010 (MENOPE 2010) Tuesday.

The expo will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center Dec. 6-8.

Addressing a press conference, organizers of MENOPE 2010 said the regional organic food market, currently valued at approximately $300 million a year, was growing at a pace of nearly 20 percent, mainly driven by the rising affinity of the youth population to embrace healthy and natural lifestyles.

Eng. Nadim Al Fuqaha, managing director, Global Links, organizers of MENOPE 2010, said: "The organic products market in the region is at the threshold of growth and the current demand and sales volume reflects the state of European markets between 1985-1990. In comparison to other global markets, even at low volumes, Middle East is still the fastest growing destination for natural and organic foods."

He further said "the Middle East boasts of a highly eco-conscious populace which contributes to the success of the expo here. The expo still remains as the only one that caters to the natural and organic products market in the region. We are positive that the success of the previous years will continue to reflect on the eighth edition of the expo creating a prolific platform for the industry to grow and excel."

MENOPE 2010 will showcase a variety of products spanning across herbals and spices, food & beverages, cereal products, supplements, health care products, natural living, natural cosmetics, healing products, natural remedies, traditional medicines, spas, relaxation facilities, pet products and fabrics.

Joby Mathew Muricken, project manager of the event, said the appeal of MENOPE as a platform for global organic product companies is tremendous.


© The Saudi Gazette 2010

News Link: http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20101201033329/Middle%20East%20demand%20for%20organic%20products%20growing%20
UPDATE: Saudi Govt Creates Co For Intl Agriculture Investments
Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010
By Nour Malas
Of ZAWYA DOW JONES


ABU DHABI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi Arabia has created a government company for agricultural investment abroad as the kingdom phases out local wheat production to save water resources and is considering boosting its wheat reserve supply to last one year, the country's agriculture minister said Tuesday.

"The government in Saudi Arabia has created a new company, a totally government company, for investments abroad," Fahad Balghunaim said on the sidelines of a forum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
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"Any Saudi private company that wants to invest abroad and who has a feasibility study can present it to this government company, and if it is feasible [the government] will join it," Balghunaim said, adding that the kingdom has prioritized water security over local food production in its food security policy.

"We do not have enough water supply in Saudi Arabia to cover our needs," he said. "That meant we have to move from depending on our local production to producing overseas."

Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy, falls into the category of 'hyper-arid' countries and has neither major rivers nor lakes. The desert kingdom, like other countries in the Middle East region, is facing extreme renewable fresh water challenges and--at the same time--needs to meet very high water consumption levels through costly seawater desalination.

The new government-owned company for investment in agriculture abroad could also team up with private companies looking to invest in agriculture outside Saudi Arabia, Balghunaim said.

He said Saudi Arabia was looking at boosting its wheat reserves to last one year, from a current six months supply.

"Now, we have a six-month wheat supply and we are thinking of increasing it to maybe one year," he said, adding that the ministry will work within a larger plan involving other government organizations.

Saudi Arabia is still committed to entirely eliminating wheat production by 2016, though it could keep small plots of land for special purposes, such as organic wheat production, Balghunaim said.

"Some small areas will be planted for special purposes, like organic wheat, otherwise we will depend totally on imports," he said.

Balghunaim also said that while local farmers may continue to produce wheat, it was unlikely to be "economically feasible" for them given the government will be importing wheat from abroad and selling it at subsidized prices.

"The government has decided it will not buy wheat from local production farmers. Whether the agriculture sector will continue to produce wheat or not is up to them," he said.

-By Nour Malas, Dow Jones Newswires, +97150 2890223; nour.malas@dowjones.com

Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Co.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

News Link: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZW20101123000071/Agricultural%20Investments

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Saudi investors facing obstacles in Argentina

By HAZEM AL-MUTTARI
30 Nov 2010

RIYADH: Dr. Fahad Balghunaim, Saudi Minister of Agriculture, said the exponentially high price of fodder is chiefly responsible for the rise in prices of imported and locally produced chickens.

He said the feed price increase is estimated at 40 percent, and noted that Saudi poultry producers have flooded the Ministry with appeals to subsidize the fodder.

"We are considering these applications," he said.

Dr. Balghunaim commented on the matter during the visit Monday by Argentina's Agriculture Minister Julian Dominguez and his accompanying delegation to King Abdul Aziz Center for Genuine Arab Horses in Riyadh.

He said one of the major efforts in the field of economic exchange is to translate the initiative of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, of investing in agriculture in foreign countries into practical measures.

The King is determined to secure a stable, reasonably priced food supply for the Kingdom and the Ministry of Health has tasked the private sector with implementing this initiative, Dr. Balghunaim said.

The private sector has responded positively by entering into partnerships with multinational companies investing in agriculture and investing in countries that are rich in agricultural resources, he said.

He said a Saudi business delegation visited Argentina to explore areas of economic exchange and discovered three obstacles to investment there.

There are concerns about tax exemptions, an investment protection pact and a tax on foreign investors, but an official said efforts are underway to address them.

Argentina's agricultural minister said "we are making intensive contacts with the Foreign Ministry in Argentina to resolve these three issues."

There are no restrictions for Saudi investors to possess lands in his country, he said.

There are some restrictions on the purchase and lease of some projects, but they have not been implemented, he added.

In a related matter, Saad Al-Meqbl, director general of Agricultural Affairs in the Eastern Province, has announced that 12 poultry projects have been shut down because their owners failed to follow regulations.

The projects, which he described as outdated, were in the urban zone.

He said his administration gave the owners a grace period so they could rectify the shortcomings, but they took no substantive action.

Al-Meqbl said a committee of officials from the ministries of Agriculture and Municipal and Rural Affairs have been effective in conducting surprise inspection tours of unlicensed shops selling live chicken.

The inspectors have confiscated more than 15,000 live chicken and the instruments used to slaughter them, he said.

Al-Meqbl further said owners of the poultry farms who violated the regulations were fined more than SR393,000 and that one of them was fined SR184,000 for unlicensed slaughtering of chicken.

Fines will be increased to SR1 million to further deter people, he added.

© The Saudi Gazette 2010

Middle East demand for organic products growing

01 Dec 2010

JEDDAH: The potential of the Middle East's market for organic products is under-explored and the sector has immense growth opportunities with a predominant youth population in the region taking to healthier and more eco-friendly lifestyles, said organizers of the eighth edition of the Middle East Natural and Organic Product Expo 2010 (MENOPE 2010) Tuesday.

The expo will be held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center Dec. 6-8.

Addressing a press conference, organizers of MENOPE 2010 said the regional organic food market, currently valued at approximately $300 million a year, was growing at a pace of nearly 20 percent, mainly driven by the rising affinity of the youth population to embrace healthy and natural lifestyles.

Eng. Nadim Al Fuqaha, managing director, Global Links, organizers of MENOPE 2010, said: "The organic products market in the region is at the threshold of growth and the current demand and sales volume reflects the state of European markets between 1985-1990. In comparison to other global markets, even at low volumes, Middle East is still the fastest growing destination for natural and organic foods."

He further said "the Middle East boasts of a highly eco-conscious populace which contributes to the success of the expo here. The expo still remains as the only one that caters to the natural and organic products market in the region. We are positive that the success of the previous years will continue to reflect on the eighth edition of the expo creating a prolific platform for the industry to grow and excel."

MENOPE 2010 will showcase a variety of products spanning across herbals and spices, food & beverages, cereal products, supplements, health care products, natural living, natural cosmetics, healing products, natural remedies, traditional medicines, spas, relaxation facilities, pet products and fabrics.

Joby Mathew Muricken, project manager of the event, said the appeal of MENOPE as a platform for global organic product companies is tremendous.

© The Saudi Gazette 2010