The Dairy Sector in Saudi Arabia |
| Market growth rate |
Milk demand in Saudi Arabia is growing 4% annually.
|
| Market competitiveness |
Milk prices dropped by more than one-quarter over the past 12 months in the fight for market share. |
| Market share |
There are currently 26 major dairy producers in the Kingdom, and only two - Alsafi, owned by France's Danone, and Almarai - have significant market share. The pair control more than 60% of the market, with another 25% divided between Nadec and Nada producers. |
| Highly capitalistic industry |
More than $ 1 billion was invested in developing dairies, and billions more were ploughed into other livestock and arable farming in former desert areas. This has left dairy producers with significant overcapacity, despite periodic attempts to carve out an export market around the Middle East. |
| Leader firm |
Al Safi Dairy Farm, the largest integrated dairy farm in the world, is home to 24,000 heads of cattle. The farm produces 125 million liters of high-quality milk annually. Two new modern dairy-processing plants began operation in 1998, and are already exporting significant quantities of milk to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). |
| Derived production |
The surge in dairy production in the Kingdom has stimulated the growth of agricultural products needed to support it. The production of alfalfa, a product increasingly used by dairies, increased from 2.4 million metric tons to 3.2 million metric tons between 1992-96. |
