Australia aims to increase its dairy exports to Saudi Arabia from 28,000 tons ($ 80 million) to 50,000 tons in the next five years, according to Peter Myers, Dairy Australia's international trade development manager.
"Australian dairy products are of high quality and Saudi Arabia is a potential market for us. There's much scope for improving our dairy exports to the Kingdom," he said during a seminar on Australia's dairy industry.
He said the Saudi economy is strong and the population touches 28 million.
"It has the biggest population in the region and the people have a big spending capacity. Each one of the 28 million is a potential dairy products consumer," Myers said.
At present, he said major local players like Almarai and Luna have been importing dairy products from Australia.
"Aside from hoping that these companies import more, we also aim to sell more for retail and for the food service industry," Myers said.
He said that while the Kingdom is a dairy consumer country, it also imports from other countries like the US and Europe.
To penetrate the Saudi market as well as those of other countries in the Middle East, Myers said, Murray Goulburn Cooperative has set up an office in Dubai, a major importer for Australian dairy products in the GCC. Its import value crosses $ 102 million.
"We'll will also make it a point to send representatives here to promote Australian dairy products," said Myers who was visiting the Kingdom for the second time.
His colleague, Sara Xu, Dairy Australia international market manager, who also spoke was here for the third time.
Australia knows the requirement of the Kingdom and other Islamic countries regarding food and it has adhered to standards regarding halal products, he added.
"There are Saudi inspectors who visit our farms, cows and factories to make sure that we follow halal standards," Myers said.
Arab News
22 May
