Marketing update
Australian Almonds in demand in Middle East
THE Middle East region is a key established market for the Australian almond industry . For our marketing year from March 2021 to January 2022 , 5,045 tonnes of Australian almonds ( KWE ) were exported to the Middle East . This represents an increase of 22 % over the same period last year . The two largest markets in this region for the Australian almond industry are the UAE , which purchased 2,653 tonnes (+ 21 %), and Turkey with sales of 1,566 tonnes (+ 3 %) of Australian almonds . Given the freight and logistic issues experienced by our Australian almond exporters in moving product to the Middle East regions , these results are very positive . The region ’ s most significant annual trade exhibition is Gulfood . The Australian almond industry has exhibited at Gulfood for more than a decade including last year , when our promotion was conducted virtually due to travel restrictions . The 2022 Gulfood trade exhibition ran from February 13 to 18 at the Dubai Trade Exhibition Center , with our Australian Almonds booth located within the World Fine Foods Hall . Although one of the first major global trade events for the year , the customer visitation and interest in the Australian almond industry at this year ’ s Gulfood Fair was very positive . Australian marketers from OFI , Select Harvests and Almondco met with customers and traders over the course of the five days . In addition to the exhibition , the trade mission included participating in the following networking events : Austrade Networking Event at the Australian Pavilion at the Dubai 2020 Expo Global Victoria – Taste of Victoria
– Networking Event INC Networking Event The Gulfood event also provided an opportunity to meet with key trade and national leaders . These included the Australian Ambassador to the UAE , Heidi Venamore , and the Consul General and General Manager of the Middle East and Africa Region , Ian Halliday . One of the key insights from the 2022 Gulfood Trade Mission was an enhanced understanding of the potential in the Saudi Arabian market . The Austrade Commissioner
to Saudi Arabia , Ross Bray , provided an overview of the growth opportunities in the Saudi market . Currently , the Australian almond industry ’ s direct exports to Saudi are small by comparison to other key markets in the region . The Saudi government are supporting the development of a Saudi Food Expo to attract direct trade from supply-origin rather than purchasing through traders in Dubai . This opportunity will be included in future Australian almond industry export development planning .
26 In A Nutshell - Autumn 2022 Vol 23 Issue 1