Ensuring Long-Term Food
Security in the GCC
Sep 2019
Ensuring Long-Term Food Security in the GCC
I. The Global Perspective
• Challenges and Prospects
• Increasing Food Demand
• Global Food Crises
II. GCC Food Security Challenges
• Main Challenges
• General Macro Conditions
• FS Country Rankings
• Food Security Indicators
III. Addressing GCC FS Challenges
A: Country Level Initiatives
(Strategic Framework)
A: Country Level Initiatives
• Optimizing Local Production
• Agri Investment Abroad
• Logistics and Distribution
B: GCC Level Initiatives
• GCC Coordination
• Logistics Networks
III. Concluding Remarks
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Procedure 60% more food
(population 9 bn by 2050)
Beyond and adequate nutrition
Preserve sensitive eco systems
Increase agricultural productivity
More and better investments in
the agri-food
Observe cross sectoral linkages
Resources sufficient but not
available when needed
Adapt lifestyles and consumption
Global Food SecurityChallenges and Prospects
The Challenges: The Prospects:
4
Population reaching over 9
billion by 2050 and income
grows even faster
Total per capita energy (calorie
intake ) stabilizes at around 3000
cal/day
Meat consumption and
production outpacing all other
commodities
Global Food SecuritySignificant Future Food Demand
Key variables 2005/2007 2050
Population (million)- UN 2010 Revision 6,584 9,306
kcal/person/day 2,772 3,070
Global (Kcal/year) 6.66 x 10 15 1.04 x 10 16
Cereals, food (kg/capita) 158 160
Global (tons/year) 1.04 x 10 9 1.49 x 10 9
Cereals, all uses (kg/capita) 314 330
Global (tons/year) 2.07 x 10 9 3.07 x 10 9
Meat, food (kg/capita) 38.7 49.4
Global (tons/year) 2.55 x 10 10 8 4.60 x 10 8
Oil crops (oil. equiv.), Food (kg/cap) 12.1 16.2
Global (tons/year) 7.97 x 10 7 1.51 x 10 8
Oil crops (oil. equiv.), all uses (kg/cap) 21.9 30.5
Global (tons/year) 1.44 x 10 8 2.84 x 10 8
Cereals, production (million tons) 2,068 3,009
Meat, production (million tons) 258 455
Cereal yields (tons/ha; rice paddy) 3.3 4.3
Arable land area (million ha) 1,592 1,661
5
Global Food Security Recurring Global Food Crisis
Prices instability on both nominal and real
terms
High Food prices with food crisis during
the periods :
•1973
•1996
•2007
•2011
More crisis in the future ?? Source:
Adapted from UNCTAD, 2
FAO Food Price Index in Nominal and Real Time
* The real price index is the nominal price index deflated by the World Bank manufactures unit value index (MUV)
Source: FAO Stats
Nominal Price Index
Real*
GCC Food SecurityMain Challenges
Local Production
limitation
• Scarce and unsuitable
natural resources
(especially water )
• Few agriculture sectors
with comparative
advantages
High Import
Dependence
• 70-80% of GCC food
requirements through
imports
• Food imports bill at
relatively high level
Global Food Markets
Risks
• Recurring global food
crisis (2008, 2011)
• Fluctuating and rising
food prices
• Long term risks
Logistics and
Distribution
• Logistics and food supply
chains characterized by:
Distribution problems
Relatively costly
Low efficiency
Food Consumption
Patterns
• Substantial demand
growth
• Food waste relatively
high (30%)
• Problems in relation
to nutrition and health
areas
GCC Countries: Benchmarking of GeneralCountry Macro Conditions
Indicator KSA UAE Qatar Oman Kuwait Bahrain
Total Area (Ha) 214,969 8,360 1,143 30,950 1,782 77.1
population (2016) 31,787 8,810 2613 4,414 4,411 1,314
population growth
(%) (2005-2015)
2.90 7.82 10.41 5.18 5.19 4.60
GDP (2016) (USD Mn) 646,438 365,882 152,469 66,293 110,899 31,458
GDP/capita 20,337 41,530 58,330 15,019 25,141 22,096
GCC countries have similar economic structure,
and are generally classified (by UN, World Bank)
as high-income countries .The income factor, is of
special significance to food security (the access/
affordability dimensions).
Despite some relative differences, the GCC
countries share many important common
economic and social conditions. The similarities
include all being oil-based economies, similar
consumption culture and pattern, relatively poor
agricultural production resource base ,and all
countries characterized by relatively high
dependence on food imports.
GCC Countries: Benchmarking of GeneralCountry Macro Conditions
GCC: Related-Food Security Indicators
Indicator KSA UAE Qatar Oman Kuwait Bahrain
Commodity self-sufficiency
Cereals (totals)% 12.8 2.5 0.2 3.1 5.1 0.0
Meat (total) % 49.4 14.3 12.4 45.7 34.5 22.0
Food commodity imports ($/mn) 11,704.60 4,846.60 1,729.70 1,723.10 2,230.40 1521.1
Food import/ capita ($) 368 550 662 390 528 1068
Food security index (EIU)
Score (out of 100) 71 70.9 73.3 73.9 74.6 67.8
Rank (out of 113 countries) 32 33 29 28 26 41
9
Addressing GCC FS Challenges Food System and Strategic Framework
Restructuring of the Agricultural Sector
Global Investment and Trade
National Food Strategic Reserve
Logistics and Food Distribution Channels
Food Demand and Consumption Management
Policies
Institutional and Management Aspects
An Efficient KSA Food System: Manage and co-ordinate the different components of
KSA strategic food security framework
Cover food security needs at the national, as well as the
regional levels
Maintain short-and long-term stability and risk
resilience
Form and mobilize public and private resources and
partnerships
Food Security Strategic Framework:
Although varying among GCC, overall
serious agricultural resources constraints
(specially water)
Comparative/ competitive advantages
(efficiency) should guide selection and
development of agricultural sub-sectors
and industries
Development should not be limited to
farming/production, but should extend to
the entire value chain of agribusiness
commodities and industries
Addressing GCC FS ChallengesOptimizing Domestic Production
Indicator KSA UAE Qatar Oman Kuwait
Cultivated Area (000 Ha) 4,192 77 14 154 16Cultivated Area/capita 0.14 0.01 0.01 0.04 0
Agricultural GDP ($/mn) 17,321 2,945 282 1,316 630Agri GDP capita ($) 545 340 108 298 143
An important strategy to overcoming
domestic natural resources constriction
and leveraging relative abundant financial
resources
Although protentional beneficial to both
investing and host countries, appropriate
strategies and performance are crucial
(land grapping, environmental impacts,
labor issues, etc.)
Need for responsible investment across all
of the agricultural supply chains
Addressing GCC FS ChallengesAgricultural Investment Abroad
Examples include different models by the
private sector, public companies, and
partnership with international agribusiness
A leading and an important investment mode is
that of “ Food-security-oriented” companies.
Examples; GCC Food-Security oriented
companies
12
GCC Food Security Ranking
Source: EIU, 2018
*Ranking out of 113 countries
Country
Overall Food Security Dimension
Rankin
g
Score /
100
AFFORDABILI
TY RANK
Score
/ 100
AVAILABILIT
Y RANK
Score /
100
QUALITY
AND SAFETY
RANK
Score /
100
NATURAL
RESOURCES &
RESILIENCE
RANK
Qatar 22 76.5 2 92.9 46 62.8 31 73 93
Kuwait 28 74.8 7 84 38 67.5 35 71.7 83
Oman 29 74.4 33 73.1 22 76.4 34 71.8 107
UAE 31 72.5 4 87 50 61.2 43 67.7 113
KSA 32 72.4 27 77.3 35 68.8 40 69.9 107
Bahrain 41 67.8 25 78.3 47 62.7 61 55.5 109
13
Selected Food Security-Oriented Agribusiness Companies in the GCC Region
Area/Aspect SALIC (KSA) AL-Dahra (UAE) Hassad (Qatar) Oman Food (Oman) Al - Mawashi (Kuwait)Company Overview
1. Establishment Nov-11 1995 2008 2012 1973
2. Ownership Public company under PIFPrivate limited liability
companygovernment company government company Public shareholding company
3. Company Capital USD 800 Million NA USD 3 Billion USD 650 Million USD 71 Million
Strategic Orientation
1. VisionTo be a world-class food
security focused agribusiness investment company.”
to partner with governmental and commercial entities in
realizing strategic
To be a successful strategic investor in the global food
and agriculture value chains.
To be the recognized leader for promoting strategic investments in the food sector domestically and
internationally
For AlMawashi to become the biggest and most proficient
company specialized in livestock transport & trading in the world
during the next 10 years
2. MissionTo build a world-class food
security focused agribusiness investment company by:
to grow into a sustainable agricultural and food products provider and partner, ensuring supply sufficiency, high quality
of farming and production operations
To identify and invest in attractive assets in the global
food and agriculture value chains, and build a strong
portfolio
Invest in food projects individually and in
partnership with various strategic investors inside
and outside Oman
§ “Achieve shareholders
expectations through proper
employment of our human
resources and functionality to
exceed our customer’s
expectations and enhance
food security”
Business description
1. Main Lines of Business
Farming, livestock, processing, packaging,
arrogation and sourcing, logistic and supply chain,
infrastructure.
specializing in the cultivation, production and trading of animal feed and essential human food commodities
(grains, meet, vegetables, oil, etc.)
producing animal feed, fruits and vegetables, dates,
poultry, and sheep. Trading and distributing
Red meat, Poultry, Dairy, Grains and Fisheries
provides all kinds of fresh, chilled, frozen, and processed halal meat
2. Value Chain Involvement
Across the entire value chain: input provision, farming, aggregation, processing,
distribution and trade
operates across the entire supply chain from farming,
processing to logistics
operates across the entire supply chain from farming,
processing to logistics
The company aspires to work across all the supply
chain.
operates across the entire supply chain from farming, processing to
logistics
3. Products Range12 products are selected based on their strategic
importance:
production and trading of animal feed and essential human food commodities
production and trading of animal feed, fruits and
vegetables, dates, poultry, sheep, grains and sugar
Red meat, Poultry, Dairy, Grains and Fisheries
Live animals, fresh & frozen meat
An efficient logistic systems is curricle for
ensuring adequate food security
Although with some variation in Arab/GCC
countries, logistic is a serious constraint
(higher costs, and longer time for
operations)
A holistic view of the entire logistics is
needed network , covering all of domestic
supply chains (port, in-land transport,
storage, and other logistics)
Addressing GCC FS Challenges
Need for Efficient Logistics
Source: World Bank, 2014
*Arab countries include four GCC countries (KSA, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman)
Ensuring Long-Term Food Security in the GCC
GCC Level Initiatives
In addition to GCC country initiatives,
there is wide scope of GCC cooperation and
coordination (in agricultural investments,
trade, logistics and distribution, etc.)
Expanding economic and trade agreements
and framework provide substantial space
and opportunities to help in GCC food
security efforts. Areas for special place to be
explored:
• GCC Regional food Reserves
• GCC Intra-trade
• Unifying consumer food standards and
specifications
Ensuring Long-Term Food Security in the GCCConcluding Remarks
Food Security is a challenge of increasing
importance globally and for the GCC in
particular
Many options to address the FS challenge
at both country level, as well as GCC
regional level
FS is about the appropriate policies and
strategies (not agricultural resources only).
Example: Singapore ranked No one, yet
it import 90% of its food
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