Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy producer is venturing into seafood and red meat amid greater demand, underscoring the country ambitions for greater food self-reliance.
Almarai Co. announced expansion plans worth 18 billion riyals ($4.8 billion) earlier this year to grow the categories and scale of its operations. It’s building a new domestic seafood production facility as well as one for beef and lamb, which should be up and running in two years, according to CEO Abdullah Albader.
The company has also earmarked $1.8 billion of that investment budget to increase poultry production by 50 per cent to 70 per cent by 2026, targeting processing 450 million birds annually from 250 million today. That includes establishing new farms and upgrading current ones.
The plans align with Saudi Arabia’s ambition to cut food imports that account for some 80 per cent of its needs. The urgency to improve food security has grown after the Covid pandemic and the disruptions to supply chains after Russia’s war in Ukraine, and is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil.
“Our presence in dairy is important. However, we also believe that there are different categories that we can get into and serve our consumers,” Albader said in an interview. “Part of our strategy is to expand internationally.”
Founded in 1977, Almarai is the country’s largest dairy company with a market capitalization of $15 billion. It produces 4 million liters of milk daily, averaging 40 liters per cow per day, according to its website. Its products are sold across seven countries in the region.
