GOIC Sheds Light on Qatar's Food Industries Sector

Doha, August 20 (QNA) - Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) shed light on the development of the food industries sector in the State of Qatar, due to the important role it plays in food security and given its status as one of the most important manufacturing activities. The total number of food industries factories by the end of 2016 was 66, which represented 8 percent of the total manufacturing factories in the country. This was presented in a report by GOIC on the sector in Qatar. It included data on the number of factories, investment in them compared to the total investment in the manufacturing sector. It also clarified the specific activities in the food industries industry. That included processing and preserving of meat and fish and their products, processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, manufacturing of vegetable and animal oils and fats, manufacturing of dairy products, manufacturing of grain mill and bakery products and macaroni, and manufacturing of prepared animal feeds. The report said that the total investments in Qatar's food industries amounted to $308 million out of the total manufacturing investments worth approximately 82.6 billion USD in 2016, a share of 0.4 percent of the total investments. The sector employed 5783 workers out of an 80457 in the manufacturing industries, which means that its share of manufacturing sector's labor force was 7.2 percent. The number of factories in the food industries industry increased from 48 in 2012 to 66 in 2016, a CAGR of 6.6 percent. Total investments grew at a CAGR of 7.2 percent from $218 million in 2012. In addition, the workforce increased from 3132 to 5783 workers, a CAGR of 13.1 percent during the same period. The manufacture of grain mill and bakery products and the manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled water were ranked first in terms of total number of firms with 28.8 percent each in 2016, followed by the manufacture of other food products n.e.c. at 19.7 percent, the processing and preserving of meat and fish and their products 10.6 percent, the manufacture of dairy products 7.6 percent, the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables and the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats 1.5 percent each. The processing and preserving of meat and fish and their products was ranked first in terms of investments, with a share of 29.2 percent of the total investments in food industries in Qatar in 2016 with $90 million invested. It was followed by the manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled waters 24.5 percent or $76 million, the manufacture of other food products at 20.1 percent with $62 million, the manufacture of grain mill and bakery products and macaroni at 11.3 percent with $35 million, the manufacture of dairy products at 10.7 percent or $33 million, the manufacture of prepared animal feeds at 2.7 percent or $8 million, the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables at 1.1 percent or $3 million, and the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats at 0.4 percent. The manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled waters was ranked first in terms of labor force with a share of 61.7 percent of the total food industries workforce in Qatar in 2016, followed by the manufacture of grain mill and bakery products and macaroni 12.1 percent, the processing and preserving of meat, fish and their products 9.1 percent, the manufacture of other food products n.e.c. 8.4 percent, the manufacture of dairy products 7.5 percent, the manufacture of prepared animal feeds 0.6percent, and the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats 0.2 percent. (QNA)