The number of GCC food industry firms increased from 1602 in 2009 to 1857 in 2013, a cumulative growth rate of 3.8 percent, the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) revealed.
Investments for the same period jumped from $12.4 billion to $18.1 billion, a cumulative growth rate of 10 percent for five years, GOIC said in a press release, noting that the workforce increased from about 149,000 workers in 2009 to approximately 196,000 in 2013 in a cumulative growth rate of 7 percent.
GOIC Secretary General Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al-Ageel said food industries are becoming increasingly important to GCC countries in light of their key role in achieving Gulf food security. In fact, food industries are essential to manufacturing activities in GCC countries, for this sector’s share of the total number of manufacturing firms is 4.9 percent, its share of the total funds invested is 4.9 percent and of the total workforce in manufacturing industries 14.2 percent.
According to the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), food industries include meat processing and preserving, fish processing and preserving, crustaceans and molluscs, processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats, manufacture of dairy products, manufacture of grain mill products, manufacture of starches and starch products, manufacture of bakery products, manufacture of sugar, manufacture of cocoa, chocolate and sugar confectionery, manufacture of macaroni, noodles, couscous and similar farinaceous products, manufacture of prepared meals and dishes, manufacture of other food products, manufacture of prepared animal feeds, manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled waters and the manufacture of tobacco products.
GOIC is a regional organization that brings together Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Yemen. Based in Doha, it is an advisory knowledge-based institution aiming at developing regional industries by providing data, information, specialized researches, consultations and technical services for the public and private sectors in GCC countries.
It is the top industrial consultations expertise hub boosting industrial development in GCC countries and Yemen. It seeks industrial integration and coordination between member states and endeavors to shape a regional industrial policy.
Source : Qatar News Agency
