Al Kabeer plans to open frozen food plant in Saudi Arabia

Al Kabeer, a Dubai-based food company, has plans to open a frozen food facility in Saudi Arabia with an investment of SAR50m ($13.3m).

The plant will be based in Jeddah and will have a capacity to produce 2,000t of ready-made foods.

The company has applied for a trade licence and expects to get it in the next three months, following which it immediately plans to start construction work of the plant.

Al Kabeer director Ahmed Khan told Gulf News that initially the company planned to open a facility in the Dubai Industrial City, but later shifted its plans to Saudi Arabia to benefit from the surge in the country’s hospitality sector.

"We would meet seasonal demand, especially during Hajj [and] throughout the year for Umrah and supply the hotels that have come up in Makkah with ready-made heat-n-serve food," Khan said.

"The pilgrims usually don’t have a cooking facility and need ready-made food, so it is an opportunity to supply the three, four and five-star hotels in Makkah and Madinah," he added.

The facility will manufacture ready-made frozen foods that will be customised to local tastes.

Al Kabeer is likely to face stiff competition from major player Americana, which leads in frozen foods sales in Saudi Arabia, followed by Al Kabeer, he said.

In 2011, the Dubai-based firm exported food products valued at $68m to Saudi Arabia.

Al Kabeer currently has facilities in the UAE, Bahrain and India, with plans underway to expand its Indian plant based in New Delhi.