Saudi Arabia is embarking on the aquaculture sector in order to diversify its economy for a transition to a post-oil economy.
With this plan entitled “Vision 2030”, the objective is to multiply by 5 the production of the Saudi aquaculture sector by 2030. Being one of the sectors with the highest growth rate in the world, l aquaculture accounts for over 50% of the world’s seafood supply.
Several companies will intervene in this context including Neom, The Red Sea Development Company and National Aquaculture Group.
THE aquaculture sector in strong growth in the kingdom
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has experienced strong growth in the aquaculture sector. According to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed Aleyada, in 2015, the country produced 30,000 tonnes of food from this sector. In five years, production has more than tripled, reaching the 100,000 tonnes mark in 2020.
With the Vison 2030 project, the Saudi government hopes to exceed 600,000 tonnes of production from aquaculture. With this strong growth, the second objective is to preserve the ecosystem of the Red Sea, even to repair it.
“Our goal will be to try to breed local species to help regenerate the ecosystem and provide seafood native to the Red Sea to our customers,” said the Saudi official as quoted by Arab News.
With the increase in aquaculture activity in Saudi Arabia, it is the employment sector that will benefit since, according to estimates, more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created by 2030.