JEDDAH: Clean, green food and beverage from Australia's largest food exporter, the State of Victoria, will be ripe for the picking during its first food trade mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A delegation of five food and beverage companies, lead by the State Government of Victoria, will join the mission on March 5-8 in Riyadh and Jeddah. The delegation will also visit local supermarket chain Panda Hypermarket, Al Marai Dairy Farm and the Saudi Arabian Catering Facility in each city, in addition to engaging in talks with local companies and the Chambers of Commerce in Riyadh and Jeddah. The mission will provide the opportunity for the participating companies to showcase the best Victoria has to offer while allowing delegates the chance to forge strong relationships with key industry figures within the Kingdom. With more than 2,000 food processing companies and goods valued at more than 9 billion, Victoria is Australia's largest food exporting state, and is known as the country's food basket. There are almost 100 Victorian food service companies currently exporting to the Mena region, with a value of around $762 million, and many other products being imported directly to the UAE and other GCC countries. The companies taking part in the inaugural trade mission to Saudi Arabia include the Australian Lamb Company (meat), Exquisine (portioned dairy desserts), Oasis Foods International (foodstuffs), Passage Foods (sauces) and Tatura Milk Industries (dairy). The Department of Primary Industries, Victoria will also accompany the delegation. John Butler, Commissioner - MENA region, State Government of Victoria, said "Saudi Arabia is the largest food importer of the Arab nations and the State of Victoria is well equipped to support the Saudi food market with a favorable climate, high quality soils and world-class industry standards, leading to the production of superior products and services for export." Butler added that "Victoria's dairy industry is our largest food sector with an estimated annual turnover of $6.6 billion and representing 13 percent of the globally traded dairy products including powdered milk, cream cheese and butter. This is followed by our meat industry which is the second largest exporter to the MENA region behind Brazil, and wheat and related grain products." "The companies taking part in this mission reflect the quality and sustainability of Victoria's food industry, and showcase the diverse range of goods and services on offer for the local Saudi market," he said. Paddy Kerrins, sales manager of Victoria's Tatura Milk Industries, said "the Middle East is an increasingly important market for our business. This mission will allow us to showcase our cream cheese range and other quality products we have to offer to the Saudi market, and will provide the opportunity for us to interact with buyers and importers directly." Kerrins added that "we have seen our exports to the region grow considerably over the past three years, and are confident that with the region's rising population and expanding hospitality industry demanding high-quality goods, Saudi Arabia will remain a target growth area for us." The Victorian Government Business Office has been operational from its headquarters in Dubai for the past 14 years, providing support for Victorian exporters and providing assistance to Middle East and North African regional companies and organizations wishing to source products and services, business introductions and investment opportunities with Victoria.
