Exporting to the MENA region

IF TRADE fair and conference participation is any indication, then the number of companies aspiring to do business in the Middle East and Africa is expanding even more this year, and for the right reasons.

As incomes rise, the GCC’s per capita food consumption is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 2.1% over 2011-2015, according to Alpen Capital in its report, GCC Food Sector. KSA will play a key role, accounting for 64% of the GCC’s total food consumption by 2015, whilst in Qatar, Oman and the UAE, growth is expected at 4%, 3.2% and 3% respectively during the same period.

In North Africa, the sector recorded an 8.5% increase in per capita  food consumption*, reports MarketResearch.com. Growth forecast is at a compound annual rate of 5.1% to the year 2016. The main driver behind these figures is the development of supermarkets and hypermarkets  in North Africa, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt by ALGE Retail, a joint-venture between French food retailer Casino and Qatari retail Group Al Meera Holding.

An emerging trend in the GCC is the shift in demand to protein-rich diets (meat, dairy products and eggs) over carbohydrates-based stapled foods, noted Alpen Capital. Of these, meat products top the list in terms of growth, with 6.2% noted in the KSA, 6.3% in the UAE, and 8% in Qatar, forecast for the years 2011 to 2015.

The call of Africa

PreGel, an Italian maker of artisan gelato, has been in the business for 30 years, and is still amazed at the robust market. “The Middle East is solid but it is still a fast-growing area for us. Europe is still the biggest volume for our business due to traditions and habits, but Middle East is growing very well,” shares Gianluca Picco, export sales director at PreGel.

“Africa is also a very interesting market because people are curious,” Mr Picco says. “In terms of economies, generally speaking, Africa is evolving. It is also a growing market. People are trying to travel and look around and they want to report – I am a witness for many African people that used to live and work, for example, in Europe and now they want to come back to Africa and bring their experience back with them,” he says.

“Gelato pastry for example, is a typical experience they want to bring back to their country because there is a gap in the market and they want to fill it. Everybody wants to be the first to do it. But you have to do it in a proper way. The danger is around the type of people who want to make a quick deal and run away,” Mr Picco warns.

German company Haus Rabenhorst has also recently been in the UAE to establish the right connections. A family-run business started in1805, Haus exports fresh juices to 30 countries, and is on the lookout to expand in the Middle East. “We aim to find appropriate partners for our business. We are looking for distributors and importers who can distribute our products to the right channels,” sales director Peter Weishaupt says.

Halal market

With this promising reports and attractive trends, it is a timely opportunity for newcomers to enter the MENA region. Frigorifico Agromarin, a lamb-slaughtering plant based in Chile, is keen to do business in the Middle East. Producing 150,000 lambs in each season, Frigorifico is a relatively small player,
compared to lamb exporters from countries such as New Zealand and Australia.  But with the company’s halal products, executive director José Miguel Marin Bachman has high hopes of entering the market.

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