Saudi Arabia: Retail Foods
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Saudi Arabia’s retail food market continues its rapid growth, with several leading Saudi as well as international retailers expanding operation in response to strong competition and rapidly changing consumers’ preferences. In 2014, the number of food retail outlets in Saudi Arabia was estimated at 42,378, an increase of 2.2 percent from 2013. The total value of food sales at the food retail outlets was estimated at $41.5 billion in 2014, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year. A recent royal announcement has stipulated that Saudi Arabia will allow foreign investors in the retail and wholesale sector a 100 percent ownership starting 2016. This regulation, if practically implemented, should provide added incentives for internationally renowned food retailers to enter the Saudi market. U.S. exports of consumer-oriented food products to Saudi Arabia reached a record-high of $578 million in 2014, an increase of about 9 percent over exports in the previous year.
