The summer season is beginning is in Saudi Arabia, with temperatures at an average of 44 degrees, increases the intake of fresh fruits. It is a huge market and many countries are looking for to be part of the market. Kashif Shahzad, the Head of International Supply Chain at Global Star, gives us an overview of current developments within this year’s Saudi Arabian fruit market this year.

“The summer months bring a huge demands for refreshing and juicy fruits like watermelon mangoes, sweet melon nectarines, grapes, peaches as well as papayas and apricots. The fruits are consumed in large quantities due to their rich quality nutrition, hydrating and nutritional value as well as their refreshing flavor. In this year’s season, a large proportion of the summer fruits comes from countries such as South Africa, India, Pakistan, Greece, Spain as well as Egypt. They provide high-quality fruits that are transported via reliable supply chains that ensure freshness.”

According to Kashif that there’s an increase in the demand of Saudi clients for fruits of summer as compared to the exact time last year. “For the mangoes, alone around 10,000 tons of mangoes have been imported as preparations for summer time mostly in Pakistan.”

Saudi Arabia is working to expand the amount of local produced fruits. Kashif clarifies: “The Saudi government has put a lot of money into agricultural technology and infrastructure, in order to aid local farmers, and increase food production within the nation. This has paid off and Saudi Arabia has been able to decrease its dependency of imported fruits and improve the amount of food it can eat. In the process, Saudi Arabia is now producing more dates, figs and plums and mangoes. the grapes, and the pomegranates.”

When it comes to distribution channels The trend is shifting towards supermarkets and retailers Kashif says Kashif, “Saudi Arabia is an area with a wide shopping landscape that comprises traditional markets as well as supermarkets and malls for shopping. Recently, the nation’s growth in economics as well as the growing urbanization of the country has led to a move towards modern distribution channels like malls and supermarkets. The summer months are when traditional markets, like souks, are likely to see increased foot traffic because of their distinctive cultural environment and outdoor shopping experiences they offer. Yet, people are increasing turning to online shopping across the nation, since the temperatures can get very hot out in season, and shopping online lets them stay at home, and stay clear of congestion and traffic in shops.”

In terms of price, there’s little change between last year and this year’s, says Kashif: “Prices for most fruit varieties have been level due to the an ongoing supply of fruit and a fierce market competition. But, the prices of some imported fruit like sweet and watermelon have been able to see a slight rise because of logistics and shipping cost.”

The Global Star Group of Companies, Global Star Group of Companies in our involvement in the distribution and trading of fresh vegetables and fruits company, keep track of market changes and the preferences of consumers by monitoring the retail sales of our customers, production and trends in demand. As the fruit harvest season is underway We offer a broad selection of local and imported made fruits such as stone fruits, watermelon and mangoes. along with grapes.”

“We are as well part of the local production strategy,” says Kashif. “We contribute to the advancement of local farmers with training programs as well as offering them with the essential farming techniques by creating our modern packing facility within the Jizan region in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, we hope to change the pattern and sell the fruit to the other Gulf nations and international markets. We are committed to supporting local communities as well as aiding in the growth of Saudi economy through promoting local-grown fruit. We would like to maintain this pattern and increase our operations to different areas of Saudi Arabia in order to encourage the growing as well as consumption of healthy, nutritious fruits.”

Kashif Shahzad

Global Star

Tel: 00966 54 788 332

Kashif@fresh-globalstar.com

www.globalstarksa.com