February 20, 2014

The increasing regional fish consumption gives investors a big opportunity to capitalise on the fastest growing food processing sector in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and Oman leading a fresh wave of investment in the Gulf's aquaculture industry.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture in December 2013 said it would inject an additional US$10.6 billion into aquaculture projects to produce one million tonnes of fish in the next 16 years, while Oman, which has long been at the forefront of aquaculture in the Gulf region, said it plans to invest US$1.3 billion in fisheries development up to 2020, they stated.

The UAE, which has the world's largest sturgeon fish farm in Abu Dhabi, with the country's Ministry of Environment and Water expected to announce several multi-billion dollar aquaculture projects in the coming months, said the experts ahead of a key industry event.