June 23, 2011
Almarai to focus on local Saudi demand for poultry
Almarai Co. is planning to strengthen domestic sales of poultry and dairy products this year, and will not expand in other countries.
"We have currently no plan for geographical expansion," Chief Financial Officer Georges Schorderet said. The company, Saudi Arabia's largest food producer by market value, allocated as much as 2.8 billion riyals (US$750 million) in capital expenditure this year, he said.
Almarai is focusing on domestic sales as demand for poultry, juices, and dairy products increase in the Arab world's largest economy. Almarai's board approved investing SAR4 billion (US$1 billion) in poultry, doubling an initial allocation of SAR2 billion (US$530 million), which was approved in April 2010, according to a statement on the Saudi bourse website.