The Broiler Industry in the GCC Countries

1. Overview The Broiler Industry in the GCC Countries The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf originally known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consists of 6 member states which are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Combined, the six GCC states have a population of 49.23 million in 2014/2015. Saudi Arabia is the most populated country with 30 million, accounting for 61% of the GCC population (Table 1). The report shows that the GCC is expected to have a total population of 57 million by 2025 (Source: Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz), 2012). Consideration in the economic aspect, the GCC countries are one of the richest nations in the world due to its own more than half of OPEC s proven crude oil reserves. Consequently, a combined nominal GDP of the region grows to US$1,692 billion in 2014/2015. Saudi Arabia is the largest member in terms of nominal GDP with 54.83% of the total GDP of GCC countries, followed by United Arab Emirates (15.95%), Qatar (11.74%), Kuwait (9.80%), Oman (5.61%) and Bahrain (2.07%) (Source: indexmundi, 2015). Table 1: Key Economic Indicators in GCC countries, 2014/2015 GCC Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia UAE Population* 49,225,388 1,195,020 4,079,698 3,992,893 1,699,435 29,994,272 8,264,070 GCC nationals (%) 52.0 48.9 31.5 56.6 14.3 67.6 11.5 Non-GCC nationals (%) 48.0 51.1 68.5 43.4 85.7 32.4 88.5 GDP (US$ Billion)** 1,691.92 34.96 165.80 94.86 198.70 927.80 269.80 GDP per capita (US$)** 51,235 29,800 42,100 29,800 102,100 31,300 29,900 Exports (US$ Billion)** 896.81 20.69 112 6.22 12.70 376.30 368.90 Imports (US$ Billion)** 505.76 14.41 24.42 30.75 39.58 147.00 249.60 Source: * http://gulfmigration.eu/gcc-total-population-and-percentage-of-nationals-and-non-nationals-in-gcc-countrieslatestnational-statistics-2010-2014/ ** http://www.indexmundi.com The main source of the GCC revenues relies on the exports of petroleum, petrochemical, crude oil, natural gas, iron, fertilizers, chemicals, fisheries, and dates. Its total export revenues reached US$896.81 billion in 2014/2015. However, the GCC region still depends on the imports of machinery, textiles, agriculture, and processed food products. The value of total imports was US$505.76 billion in 2014/2015. Its main importing partners are China, India, Unites States of America, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, while Thailand is the 13 th importing source with the share of 1.86% of the GCC total import value (Source: Global Trade Atlas, 2015). Moreover, food and agricultural trade in the GCC plays an important role since the region has a limit on climate and the amount of water that is not suitable for cultivation and animal husbandry. As a result, production of crops and animals for human food is not enough to meet intra-region demand each year. Saudi Arabia and the 1

United Arab Emirates are currently the major sources of food and agricultural products of the GCC countries, which rely on imports from abroad, about 80% of total GCC demand. In general, consumers in the GCC countries have some unique behaviors of eating culture that indicates of the Middle East population (Source: https://th.wikipedia.org) as follows: Meat is crucial to the diet of the region. In some country, meat is commonly eaten with beans and dried fruit. Poultry, mutton, lamb and beef are the favorite meat of the GCC consumers. The popular vegetables in the GCC are pulses, tomato, cucumber and okra. Consumers in the GCC countries typically eat processed products from milk such as yogurt, butter. Wheat and barley flour which widely used to make bread are staple food at every meal while rice is eaten on special occasion not for everyday dish. Stevia, spices, rosewater and cumin are the most common seasonings in the region. Due to the region s changing consumers lifestyles as the world trends rapid urbanization, and hasty life, GCC residents have less time to cook at home and trend to go eating out more often. Consequently, foodservice outlets in the GCC countries were totally worth US$16.5 billion. The fast food was found to be the largest segment, worth US$9.5 billion, accounting for 57% of the GCC foodservice sales. It was followed by full service restaurants with the worth of US$5.3 billion, accounting for 32% of the GCC foodservice sales ( Source: Al Masah Capital: GCC Foodservice Sector, retrieved from http://www.almasahcapital.com/ uploads/report/pdf/report_114.pdf). 1.1 Broiler Production and Consumption in the GCC Countries Since broiler meat is the major source of protein for the GCC population, the total consumption in the region reached 1,929,000 tonnes in 2014, while the region s production capacity was at 759,000 tonnes. Saudi Arabia is the largest broiler meat producer in the GCC states with its production of 650,000 tonnes or 85.64% of total GCC broiler meat production. It was followed by Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates with the production of 4 4,0 0 0 and 4 3,0 0 0 tonnes, or 5.80% and 5.67%, respectively. Total broiler production is expected to increase at 6.49% annually on average during the year 2010-2015 because some members give priority to expanding chicken production to underlie the rising consumption in the future. For example, Saudi Arabia has taken measures to promote domestic poultry producers with funding for production and research to increase productivity and reduce chicken broiler mortality rates, while the United Arab Emirates focuses on researches in the biological diversity of poultry species that are resistant to epidemic diseases and to minimize losses during processing. Qatar is another example of the GCC members that give priority to 2

the development of infrastructure conducive to investment in poultry farms. Even though all GCC members have been offered local poultry producers with the various types of supportive measures, broiler meat production is still insufficient to meet the region demand which is expected to grow at 3.75% annually on average during the year 2010-2015. Consequently, the GCC broiler consumption is estimated at 2,040,000 tonnes in 2015 (Table 2). Table 2: Broiler Production and Consumption in the GCC Countries in 2009-2015 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* Avg. Growth (%) 2010-2015 Unit: Thousand ton Proportion (%) 2014 Production Saudi Arabia 476 426 509 566 600 650 710 7.29 85.64 Kuwait 41 40 39 40 41 44 47 2.38 5.80 United Arab Emirates 40 40 40 37 41 43 45 2.14 5.67 Qatar 7 8 9 10 10 10 13 11.32 1.32 Bahrain 6 6 6 6 6 6 6-0.79 Oman 6 6 6 6 6 6 6-0.79 GCC 576 526 609 665 704 759 827 6.49 100.00 Consumption Saudi Arabia 1,023 1,068 1,219 1,295 1,403 1,361 1,440 5.99 70.55 United Arab Emirates 279 226 242 245 242 212 220-3.42 10.99 Qatar 76 74 84 93 94 107 123 8.58 5.55 Kuwait 150 161 138 118 117 105 113-4.15 5.44 Oman 80 80 90 96 99 101 101 4.05 5.24 Bahrain 36 44 43 38 44 43 43 3.64 2.23 GCC 1,644 1,653 1,816 1,885 1,999 1,929 2,040 3.75 100.00 Source: United States Department of Agriculture. Remark: * estimate. 1.2 The GCC Consumer Behavior Broiler meat is the most popular meat within the GCC consumers at all level of ages and incomes. One of the reasons is because broiler meat has the lower price than others such as beef and goat meat. The average broiler meat consumption is projected to be around 40.48 kilogram per capita in 2015, increasing from 36.13 kilogram per capita in 2005. Kuwait is the biggest consumer with the average amount of 60 kilogram per capita, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, with 46.3, 42.4, 38.5, 37.2, and 18.5 kilogram per capita, respectively (Table 3). The GCC consumers typically eat broiler meat with white appearance because they believe that it is high quality meat, gives natural taste when cooked, and thus being good for their health. They usually cook fresh chicken kept both in chilled and frozen as various traditional dishes such as kabsa which is spiced rice with chicken, and other popular chicken dish like sausage and salami. However, beside the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the GCC residents might consume less chicken meat during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and the summer holidays (June-August) because they mostly travel abroad around this time. 3

Table 3: Broiler meat Consumption Per Capita in the GCC Countries Unit: kilogram per capita Country 2005 2015* Kuwait 57.1 60.0 United Arab Emirates 42.1 46.3 Saudi Arabia 38.5 42.4 Bahrain 35.0 38.5 Qatar 28.7 37.2 Oman 15.4 18.5 Source: FAO Statistics, 2012. GCC 36.13 40.48 Remark: * estimate. Samples of Kabsa, a regional dish in the GCC countries. 1.3 Broiler Industry in the GCC Countries The broiler industry in the GCC countries is mostly attributed to three Saudi Arabia largest poultry producers, which are Al-Watania Poultry, Fakieh Farms, and Almarai Company, with all three broiler production capacity at 422,500 tonnes/year (Table 4), accounting for 56% of total GCC broiler meat production. The most favored processed chicken products sold in the GCC countries are salami, sausage, chicken meat ball, chicken nugget, and chilled/frozen ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat. Moreover, there have been many new entrants, both local and foreign players, into the industry in the past years. For example, Big Dutchman, the German leading innovator in poultry feeding system, has recently signed a contract with Al Ajban Poultry Farms in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The contract is for an expansion of well-established farms and covers the supply of poultry equipment and broiler breeder management ( Source: https://www.bigdutchman.com). Another example is Food Investment Holding Company (OFIC) in Oman which plans to increase investment in its poultry industry. The project will boost domestic production and produce 60,000 tonnes of poultry meat annually in 2015 in order to meet the domestic demand (Source: http://www.tradearabia.com). Beside the continuing expansion of investment within the GCC broiler industry, those leading poultry producers initially start up their business in foodservices. For example, Fakieh Farms launches its own fast food chain, named Taza Barbecue Chicken, with recently more than 100 outlets within the GCC, while global fast food chain McDonald's has now opened to almost 370 outlets and expected to expand more across the region. Although all above mentions along with measures to promote poultry producers are the main factors driving the rapid growth in the 4

broiler industry in the GCC countries, broiler production is still not enough to meet the region consumption. This is because the occurrence of poultry disease outbreak in the GCC countries reduced the region poultry production. As a result, the GCC processed producers need to rely on broiler imports from other regions more than doubled the amount of the GCC production. Samples of processed chicken products sold in the GCC: (from left to right) Salami, Sausage, RTC chicken soup Table 4: List of Major Producers in Broiler Industry in the GCC Countries Country Company Capacity (Tonnes/year) Saudi Arabia Al-Watania Poultry 238,500 Fakieh Farms 124,000 Almarai Company 60,000 United Arab Emirates Emirates Modern Poultry Company (EMPCO) 8,729 Al Ain Poultry 7,009 Arab Poultry Breeding and Production Company (TASIL) 3,483 Ras Al Khaimah Poultry & Feeding Company 3,483 Federal Foods LLC Na EMKE Group Na Al Islami Foods Na IFFCO-Emirates National Poultry Farm Na Big Dutchman Na Oman Food Investment Holding Company (OFIC) 60,000 Qatar Arab Qatari Company Na Source: Oman food company to build new factories, retrieved from http://www.tradearabia.com, The Poultry Market in UAE 2012, and GAIN Report number SA1410: Poultry Products in Saudi Arabia 2014. 2. Trade 2.1 Imports-Exports of the GCC broiler meat In 2014 the GCC broiler meat imports, both in forms of chilled, frozen, and other processed products, totaled US$1,082 million, with an average annual growth rate of 3.75% during the year 2010-2015. In 2014, 92.61% of total imports valued in the GCC countries were in the form of frozen broiler products. All products are imported and distributed through various channels both retailers and foodservices in order to consume in household level and used as raw material in food processing industry. The rest of broiler meat is imported in the form of other processed ready-to-eat products and chilled products, which contribute only 7.21% and 0.18%, respectively (Table 5 and Figure1). 5

Table 5: Broiler Import Value in the GCC Countries, by Types, in 2009-2014 Type Import Value (US$ million) Avg. Growth 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (%) Frozen 512 619 837 882 1,015 1,002 15.06 Processed 55 58 55 70 61 78 8.51 Chilled 3 3 2 2 2 2-6.67 Total 570 680 894 954 1,078 1,082 14.17 Source: Global Trade Atlas, 2015. In 2014 Saudi Arabia is the biggest broiler importer in the GCC countries with the value of US$457 million, followed by the United Arab Emirates with the import value of US$375 million. These two importers have together market share of 77% of the GCC broiler imports ( Table 6 and Figure 2). Brazil remained the dominant broiler meat supplier to the GCC countries, with a 77.63% market share of total broiler meat imports, followed by the United States of America, with a 14.79% market share while broiler meat imports from Thailand was very small, with a 2.59% market share only (Table7 and Figure3). Table 6: Broiler import values in the GCC Countries, by Country, in 2009-2014 Country Import value (US$ million) Avg. Growth 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (%) Saudi Arabia 214 280 404 415 470 457 17.67 UAE 188 208 285 309 372 375 15.45 Kuwait 78 91 84 81 84 89 3.01 Qatar 43 45 54 70 69 71 11.15 Oman 22 30 36 44 47 51 18.78 Bahrain 25 26 31 35 36 39 9.46 Total 570 680 894 954 1,078 1,082 14.17 Table 7: Major broiler suppliers to the GCC Countries, in 2009-2014 Country Import value (US$ million) Avg. Growth 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (%) Brazil 476 574 742 727 841 840 12.68 USA 66 68 110 162 161 160 22.17 Thailand - 1 5 21 27 28 150 China 10 17 17 14 21 24 23.33 Netherlands 5 6 5 6 7 8 10.86 Turkey - - - 2 4 6 30 Germany - - - 1 1 1 100 others 13 14 15 21 16 15 4.96 Total 570 680 894 954 1,078 1,082 14.17 Source: Global Trade Atlas, 2015. Kuwait 8.23% Figure1 Processed 7.21% Oman Qatar 4.71% 6.56% UAE 34.66% Bahrain 3.60% Chilled 0.18% Source: Global Trade Atlas, 2015. China 2.22% Thailand 2.59% Netherland 0.74% USA 14.79% Turkey 0.55% Frozen 92.61% Saudi Arabia 42.24% Germany 0.09% others 1.39% Brazil 77.63% Figure 2 Figure 3 6

For the exports of broiler meat in the GCC countries, its value was slightly small, approximately US$ 1 million. The major export destination is mainly within the GCC member countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 2.2 Broiler Meat Market by Major GCC Member States Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is the largest importer of broiler meat in the GCC countries due to its large population size with more than 30 million in 2014. There are many factors driving more demand for broiler meat in Saudi Arabia such as the expected 40 million populations in 2025; the continuous flourishing economies from rising oil prices; and the Saudi consumers higher purchasing power with an average disposable income at US$25,000 per capita. By all these factors, it leads to changes in Saudi consumer behavior, for example, Saudi residents eat more protein from meat, especially chicken meat, instead of carbohydrates from staple food. However, domestic broiler production currently covers about 42% of total Saudi Arabia s consumption, of which 58% needs to be imported. Brazil is the dominant broiler meat supplier to Saudi Arabia with the highest 80% of market share. Moreover, Saudi Arabia broiler production is expected to further increase 9% in the future because Saudi government stated a strategic goal of achieving full self-sufficiency in poultry production capacity by providing subsidies for interest-free loans and rebates on the purchase of certain poultry equipment, and investment promotion via Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) including the implementation of a unified bio-security system to help reduce chicken broiler mortality rates. Apart from domestic consumption, Saudi Arabia exports a significant portion of its local poultry meat production, mainly to neighboring Gulf countries. In 2013, Saudi poultry exports, mostly in fresh/chilled broiler meat, were estimated at 35,000 tonnes, and expected to increase to 50,000 tonnes in the future. However, local broiler meat producers that export outside Saudi Arabia must reimburse the government before they are allowed to export in order to help achieve the Kingdom s food security strategic goals in reliance on domestic production. In addition, the Saudi broiler market is estimated to value at US$12 billion, with an average growth rate of 5% annually. One of the reasons is that broiler producers have constructed many infrastructures such as cold storages and refrigerated trucks to support distribution of poultry products both to retailers and directly to consumers (Source: Almarai Company, retrieved from http://efghermesresearch.com/companiespresentation/almarai.pdf). Currently, ALYOUM is the largest producers of poultry products in Saudi Arabia, with the share of 37% of the Saudi total sales of poultry production. It is followed by Al-Watania Poultry and Fakieh Farms, with the market share of 27% and 14%, consequently. Moreover, 7

it is found that chilled whole chicken is the most popular products in Saudi Arabia, while the Saudi favorite chicken parts are wings, drumstick and breast. The Saudi consumers also prefer to buy these products packed in plastic trays. the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has played the major role in food trading among the GCC members due to her strengths in rules and regulations, such as shareholder rights, land tenure law and free flow of capital, to facilitate doing business in the UAE. Moreover, effective infrastructure (e.g. logistics system) and free economic zone or tax free zone also attract numerous foreign investors to invest in manufacturing and distribution activities in the UAE. As a result, the UAE recently becomes the major trading hub of the Middle East region. In addition, the UAE is the second largest broiler meat importers in the GCC countries, after Saudi Arabia. Imported broiler products in the UAE are mostly for domestic consumption and exported to the third countries. It is showed that 22% of total import value of processed chicken products in the UAE is exported to the Middle East countries. Moreover, the UAE average imported broiler products are approximately 0.191 million tonnes/year, with an average growth rate of 11.34% annually. The major importing sources of frozen broiler products are Brazil and USA, while Thailand is the largest importing sources of processed broiler products, with the market share of 54% of the UAE total processed broiler products. Furthermore, in the past 5 years it is found that the UAE is expected to increasingly import more processed broiler products than frozen broiler products. The reason is because immigrants in the country mostly do not cook at home so that they prefer ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products to frozen products. Another reason is that many producers develop a variety of processed broiler products which meet consumer demand, especially Asian consumers. As a result, the UAE processed broiler market has rapidly grown and increasingly imported Thai processed broiler products since 2011. Emirates Modern Poultry Co (EMPCO) is the largest producers of poultry products in the UAE, with the share of 20% of the UAE total domestic poultry production. It is followed by Al Ain Poultry, Al Khazna Poultry, Arab Poultry Breeding and Production Co (Tasil) and Ras Al Khaimah Poultry Farm, with the market share of 16%, 11%, 8% and 8%, consequently. In addition, Federal Foods LLC is the major distributor of sadia, Tyson, A Saffa, and Doux poultry products in the UAE. While Kabeer Foods is the leading producer of processed poultry products in the UAE with the share of 34% of the UAE processed poultry production. It is followed by Khazan Foods, Freshly Frozen Foods and Al Islami Foods, with the market share of 23%, 16% and 13%, consequently (Source : IMES CONSULTING (MENA) FZ LLC). 8

Poultry products in the UAE are mostly distributed through modern trade perspective such as supermarkets and hypermarkets. These channels are continually expanding in terms of outlets to support the increasing numbers of expatriates and tourists. Moreover, the foodservice market, such as restaurants, exotic dining and franchised fast food, is another major distribution channel for poultry products in the UAE. 2.3 Thailand s Processed Broiler Products to the GCC Countries During the past 5 years (2010-2014), Thailand's broiler meat production has been growing continuously, with an average growth rate of 5% annually. The reason is because Thai producers have improved standardized farm management and integrated production system from upstream to downstream industries, including broilers chick hatchery, broiler production, feed and slaughtered industry, and processing industry. Another reason is because Thai producers have ability to develop a variety of new products under safety and quality controlled processes that meet each specific consumer. As a result, it leads to an increase in purchasing order from international markets. It currently shows that 35% of Thailand s total broiler production is widely exported to support the global demand. Table 8: Thailand s broiler export values to the GCC Countries, in 2010-2014 Country Export Value (US Dollar) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 UAE 643,446 4,201,040 19,524,596 25,981,832 26,346,535 Oman - - - 405,859 502,016 Qatar 30 - - 308,837 351,157 Kuwait - - - 5,736 230,311 Saudi Arabia - 5-305,736 108,067 Bahrain 7 17-817 77 Total 643,483 4,201,062 19,524,596 27,008,817 27,538,163 Source: Global Trade Atlas, 2015 Oman 1.82% Qatar 1.28% Kuwait 0.84% Saudi Arabia 0.39% UAE 95.67% Figure 4 In the present, Thailand is the largest exporter of processed broiler products, with the market share of 30% of total export processed broiler products in the world market, in terms of value. The major producers and exporters include Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co., Ltd, Saha Farms Co., Ltd, Betagro Co., Ltd, Sun Valley (Thailand) Co., Ltd, Laemthong Corporation Co., Ltd., GFPT PCL., Grampian Foods Siam Co., Ltd, Thaipoultry Group Co.,Ltd, and Sun Food International Co.,Ltd. The major exporting countries of Thai processed broiler products are Japan, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, and South Korea. Furthermore, it is found that Thai processed broiler industry has increased continuously and rapidly since its export value moved from US$0.64 million in 2010 to US$27.54 million in 2013. At this point, the UAE is the largest importer of Thai processed 9

broiler products, with the market share of 95.67% of Thailand s total export value of processed broiler products. The UAE mainly imports Thai processed broiler products to export to the GCC members such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain (Table 8 and Figure 4). 3. Opportunities for Thai Broiler Industry in The GCC Market 1) The GCC broiler market is projected to increase faster than by 5% annually in value terms due to the expansion of modern retailers in the region. 2) The broiler meat demand trend in the GCC is rising since its population is expected to reach 57 million in 2025. Moreover, Broiler meat consumption per capita in the GCC countries is one of the highest ranking in the world. 3) Government supports in terms of public funding, and low interest loans, and additional infrastructure development which aim in underlying the expansion of industrial sectors will lead to the opportunity for investment in the GCC broiler industry. 4) Thai manufacturers have ability to produce a variety of processed chicken products that meet the diverse needs of consumers in the GCC market. It consequently leads to the opportunities for continuing growth in trading across the GCC region. 4. Suggestions and Solutions to Access The GCC Broiler Meat Market 1) Thai manufactures should specify clear targeted customer which is needed to focus on whether is upper market or lower market. This is because the GCC market has similar consumption patterns but different income level. That means, although the overall GCC consumers generally have high purchasing power, but consumers in some member states might include workers from outside GCC countries, which are mostly from Asia region such as Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who normally have lower purchasing power than Arabian or GCC national consumers. 2) In the past time, food products imported from Thailand are priced higher than those from competitors due to higher logistics cost. As a result, Thai exporters and producers should set up their representative offices or distribution agents in Dubai, UAE, in order to facilitate all processes of exporting processed chicken products to the GCC countries in a rapid and convenient manner. Moreover, since Thai food products cannot pricing compete with Chinese products, Thai manufacturers should set the selling price of medium-to-high end products closed to those products from Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. 10

3) Thai food manufacturers should be discreet in doing business with traders in the GCC countries and the Middle East countries due to many strict food regulations. In particular, importing food products that contain meat as an ingredient must always be Halal certified. Moreover, labeling regulations enforced in these countries require that food product label must contain information in both Arabic and English; all numbers must be in Arabic; and all ingredients must be identified. If it is inspected that food products do not show the correct information on labeling or contain ingredients which are prohibited or have exceed quantity level of the standard limits, these products will be rejected and returned immediately. As a result, Thai food manufacturers looking to enter the GCC and the Middle East market should understand all about food regulations enforcing in these markets and acquire other related important information. 4) Thai food manufacturers should concern about structural factors in the GCC market such as increases in new producers; advantages in production cost of major exporting countries (e.g. Brazil, China, Turkey); and decreasing demand during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Hajj pilgrimage. All these factors may affect in competitiveness of Thai investors looking to enter the GCC broiler market. 5) The GCC populations have changed their consumption patterns by turning to more healthy food products. One of the reasons is that government sectors aggressively promote continuous measures to reduce the obesity problem in the region. Therefore, broiler manufacturers should follow this health trend of the GCC consumers by developing a variety of processed chicken products. Moreover, they should advertise that their products are good for health due to being a source of high protein but low fat food, making it even more attractive for consumers in the region. 6) Thai food manufacturers should focus on developing processed chicken products especially in the form of ready-to-eat products. Offering processed products may possibly be traditional or local chicken dishes such as kabsa or salami, in order to meet consumers lifestyles in the GCC market. Moreover, manufacturers should introduce a wide variety of processed products in exotic tastes such as Chinese food, Indian food or Thai food, in order to meet the diverse preferences of both local consumers and foreigners in the region. ------------------------------------------------ 11