Al-Hayat daily has recently revealed that the Saudi Arabian Jamjoom Public Trading Company intends to acquire the Indian Sun Stars company, which specializes in the cleaning, packaging and exporting of rice. The marketing of the newly acquired Indian rice will be made possible with the help of the American Uncle Bens company.
Local Saudi sources expect the rice consumption in the kingdom to rise by three percent annually, as a result of the local population growth. Presently, 700,000 tons of rice are consumed annually in Saudi Arabia, representing one of the highest consumption levels in the world.
The Saudi rice market is valued at SR 2.25 billion ($600 million) a year, while the local per capita consumption amounts to 33 kg. per annum. This figure is relatively high, compared to the 21 kg. per capita in Jordan, 15 kg. in Syria and 14 kg. in Lebanon.
–(Albawaba-MEBG)
