Food and beverage companies of Sri Lanka conclude visit to Saudi Arabia

Friday, 24 January 2025 00:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A Sri Lankan delegation of food and beverage companies successfully concluded a four-day business visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board organised the visit from 12 to 17 January 2025 to promote Sri Lankan food products and beverages in the Kingdom. The visit was aimed at providing the Sri Lankan food and beverage manufacturing companies with opportunities to build new business relationships, to explore new market opportunities, to stay ahead of the competition and to adapt to new developments more easily. Eight Sri Lankan companies, namely C.W. Mackie PLC, Peoples Organisation for Development Import and Export (PODIE), Multi Commodities Export Ltd., Prime Food Products Ltd., Hint Nuwara Eliya Ltd., Worga Naturals Ltd., Star Mushroom took part in the visit. The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh organised B2B networking sessions for the trade delegation and their counterparts from Riyadh Chamber, Asharquia Chamber in Dammam and the Federation of Saudi Chambers.

Inaugurating the B2B networking sessions, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ameer Ajwad highlighted the unexplored opportunities in the food and beverage sector. He pointed out that as a fast-growing economy in G20 and the largest economy in the MENA region, Saudi Arabia is a great potential market for the Sri Lankan food and beverage industry. Further, food and beverage market size in the kingdom is projected to reach over $ 30 billion in 2025. There are also growing demands for organic and convenience foods and the Ambassador emphasised that therefore visits of Sri Lankan food and beverage manufacturing companies to Saudi Arabia will help to gain industry knowledge as well as to develop business plans and networking.

B2B sessions hosted by the three key chambers of Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Chamber, Asharquia Chamber as well as the Federation of Saudi Chambers (the official federation for the 28 Saudi Chambers and acts as an umbrella for the business sector in Saudi Arabia), are a testimony for the keen interest shown by the Saudi private sector to establish closer business to business interactions with Sri Lankan companies, the Ambassador added.

During the four-day business visit in the Kingdom, the delegation also visited a food facility at M/S Almarai and engaged in market studies at Tamimi Market in Dammam and Lulu hypermarket in Riyadh.

Ambassador Ameer Ajwad hosted a dinner at the Embassy premises in honour of the visiting Sri Lankan trade delegation and held a feedback session. Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh Minister/Head of Chancery N.M.M. Anas, First Secretary of Commerce Tashma Vithanawasam, and Yamuna Sumanarathna from Export Development Board Sri Lanka who coordinated the visit were also present at the occasion.