A brand new report lately launched by The Arab Funding and Export Credit score Assure Company (Dhaman) revealed that Arab international locations within the Center East import some US$139bn price of meals and non-alcoholic drinks yearly.
Additional estimates from Fitch predicted a wholesome 8.6% development for this sector on this area final 12 months, putting its worth at an estimated US$430bn as of end-2025.
These numbers present that there’s a lot of potential for meals and beverage corporations to unlock in these Arab international locations – Nevertheless, it is very important perceive that at current, a lot of the development is being seen in simply 5 international locations.
| Nation | Est. worth of foods and drinks gross sales in 2025 (US$bn) | Share of foods and drinks gross sales in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 104.6 | 24.3% |
| Saudi Arabia | 90.2 | 21.0% |
| Algeria | 56.6 | 13.1% |
| UAE | 41.9 | 9.8% |
| Iraq | 37.0 | 8.6% |
These 5 markets made up 77% of the Arab area’s meals and beverage gross sales in 2025, highlighting a substantial amount of focus on this market.
There are a complete of 16 market on this area, encompassing different names like Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain – however sixth-ranked Morocco made up simply 3.5% of the market in comparison with fifth-ranked Iraq.
Egypt’s top-ranked place right here shouldn’t be with out its woes although – in keeping with the report authors, this excessive spend is being pushed not solely by inhabitants development but additionally elevated client spending because of excessive inflationary pressures.
Meals and beverage classes main development
9 foremost meals product classes made up the majority (96%) of meals gross sales on this area final 12 months: Meat and poultry merchandise; grains, pasta and baked items; dairy merchandise; recent greens; fruits; sugar and sweeteners; fish and fish merchandise; oils and fat; eggs.
Of those classes, meat and poultry merchandise carry the majority of gross sales with over 1 / 4 (27%) of complete meals gross sales within the Arab area at a whopping US$106bn, adopted not-so-closely by grains, pasta and baked items at 16% (US$63bn).
Equally for drinks, 4 foremost beverage classes carried over 95% of gross sales within the Arab area in 2025: Espresso, tea and scorching drinks; fruit and vegetable juices; mineral or spring water; tender drinks.
Regardless of the new climate right here, espresso, tea and scorching drinks made up over half (52%) of all gross sales, whereas water trailed behind at 17%.
Each the meals and beverage sectors are projected to proceed seeing constructive development from now till the tip of 2029, reaching values of US$515bn and US$43.5bn respectively.
That mentioned, a number of classes are anticipated to take a success on account of ongoing client traits and authorities insurance policies, notably sugar and sugar-based merchandise that are estimated to see a 2% or US$3bn decline.
What are the alternatives right here for meals and beverage corporations?
Grilled meat is a significant function in Center Jap delicacies particularly foremost dishes like shawarma and kebabs, therefore it’s no shock that a substantial amount of gross sales is generated from this class.
When it comes to speedy alternatives, the meat and poultry market can also be the class most probably to see the quickest development within the coming 4 years, estimated to develop 2.6% from its present 26.5% market share (US$105.7bn) to 29.3% (US$151.2bn) in 2029, so the lowest-hanging fruit could be discovered right here.
That is particularly so within the packaged ready-to-eat (RTE), ready-to-cook (RTC) or ready-to-heat (RTH) meat or poultry product classes, which offer a further factor of comfort.
Whereas sugar is predicted to take a dip, there’s alternative to be discovered within the diminished sugar and zero-sugar beverage class, particularly with insurance policies pushing for innovation and reformulation on this space.
That is notably so in markets such because the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the place the federal government enforced a tiered taxation mannequin for sugary drinks beginning on January 2026, the place sugar-sweetened drinks will likely be taxed in keeping with sugar content material per 100ml with a view to encourage corporations to actively scale back the sugar content material of their merchandise.
