GCC countries are announcing new initiatives to boost the region’s share in the $220 billion global organic food market with Saudi Arabia,  the area’s largest food consumer, leading the regional efforts, said an expert.

The Gulf’s own market is estimated at around $300 million, with Saudi representing almost 90 per cent of the sector, said Riyadh-based Al Watania Agricultural Company, the first ISO 9001-certified agricultural company in the Middle East.

There are currently over 3,000 outlets dedicated to organic and natural products across the Gulf, with rising regional prioritization of health and safety expected to boost this figure within the next few years.

Saudi Arabia has been leading regional efforts to further grow the organic foods business. The country’s private sector has already established a Saudi Organic Farming Association to oversee the development of organic food, using a SR15 million seed fund. Saudi investments in organic food were valued at $267 million in 2009.

Al Wataniya intends to help sustain the Kingdom’s pioneering position in the region’s organic foods and natural products industry. In 1999 the company decided to stop using chemicals and artificial fertilizers and focus exclusively on organic methods such as the use of pest insect repellants and animal manure.

“For more than a decade we have proven that there is indeed a strong niche for organic foods in the region. But beyond being just a lucrative business, organic foods enable Al Watania to realize our chairman Sheikh Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi’s vision of providing only the healthiest, safest and most trustworthy food to the Saudi consumer,' said Ibrahim Abouabat, general manager, Al Watania.

'We can see this philosophy being adopted by a growing number of Arab countries as well, with Gulf members in particular rapidly turning the region into a key global market for healthy and natural food products,' Abouabat stated.

The company continues to develop enhanced standards for organic produce through its four agricultural farms at the Al Jouf, Al Qassim and Wadi Al Dawaser regions.

Officially endorsed by French organic certification organization Ecocert, Al Watania’s organic products are of such high quality that they are seeing major demand throughout Europe and Asia, Abouabat said.

Al Watania recently inked a deal to boost the visibility of its products at the Saudi branches of French international hypermarket chain Carrefour as part of its expansion efforts across the Kingdom, he added.-TradeArabia News Service