Saudis eye Turkey for food production
Private Saudi firm Planet Food World (PFWC) will invest around $3bn in agriculture in Turkey over the next five years to export food products to the Gulf region, the head of its Turkish unit said.
PFWC wants to build 20,000 industrial farms over the next five years, Mete Mutluoglu told Reuters.
Each farm is seen at 10,000 square metres and will raise vegetables and fruits as well as having fish, poultry, sheep and cattle-raising facilities. PFWC’s total land usage in Turkey is seen at 200sqkm.
At first instance most exports will go the Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula, but the company would also like to export to Russia and Europe in the future.
Turnover in the first five years from the activities may be in the range of $20bn for the agricultural goods. This could go even higher when additional planned food and animal-processing plants are functioning.
Saudi Arabian firms have been looking abroad to grow food for the country and Gulf region. PFWC also has a project in Ethiopia, while others are looking at Tanzania and Sudan.
