NADEC Approves $1.3 Billion Five-Year Plan To Widen Food Output
The Saudi dairy and juice group will phase SAR 5 billion of capital spending across 2027-2031, pushing packaged red meat, hydroponics and higher-value agriculture.
Saudi Arabia's National Agricultural Development Company has signed off on a five-year investment programme that commits roughly $1.3 billion, or SAR 5 billion, to expanding its food business between 2027 and 2031.
The plan, approved by the NADEC board, spreads spending across four areas: dairy, juice and food processing; red meat and other protein products; technology-driven farming; and the manufacturing capacity needed to supply them. Money will be released in stages rather than in a single outlay, and the company expects the financial effect to accumulate gradually from 2027.
Chairman Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Rebdi framed the programme around scale and staying power. He said it is intended to build "a leading national food and agriculture company that is stronger and more resilient," and tied it to Vision 2030 and the kingdom's long-term food security goals.
a leading national food and agriculture company that is stronger and more resilient,
Stronger domestic production, secure supply chains and the ability to absorb external shocks are what NADEC sees as the foundation of its position as a supplier of staple foods, Al-Rebdi said.
The company plans to draw on infrastructure, operating know-how and commercial relationships built through recent investments and partnerships. Those assets are meant to carry the commercial side of the plan and to move the portfolio toward products that earn more per unit.
Core categories get new lines and wider reach
Dairy, juice and food processing remain the centre of the business. NADEC wants its products available in more places — retail shelves, foodservice accounts and e-commerce — and wants more customers buying them. New items are planned to match changing tastes. Recent additions include an expanded kefir range and new juice flavours.
Investment in production lines and manufacturing technology is aimed at lifting output per worker and keeping products in stock.
Protein push moves from commodity to packaged
NADEC has identified protein as a priority, with red meat at the centre of it, and is steering that business from carcass sales toward packaged goods. The push rests on three supports: the commissioning of the Haradh slaughterhouse, a joint venture with UK meat processor Hilton Foods, and the company's purchase of full ownership of Al Raie National Livestock Company.
The numbers behind the strategy are already moving. Protein revenue rose 100.2% year on year in the third quarter of 2026 and 69.1% over the first nine months of the year. NADEC aims to have branded, retail-ready packaged red meat in major retail channels by the end of 2026, using existing production capacity, distribution and cold-chain infrastructure.
Farming side turns to controlled environments
The agricultural arm of the plan emphasises higher-value domestic output produced with modern methods. Controlled-environment farming, stronger seed production and tissue culture work, and progress on the AgriTech Park in Hail all sit inside it.
In the third quarter NADEC agreed to buy a six-hectare hydroponic facility in Haradh for SAR 85 million, or $22.7 million, a deal disclosed in its August 25 filing with the Saudi Exchange. The company says these initiatives are designed to use resources more efficiently, raise domestic output, and pair food security objectives with commercial returns.
The national backdrop
The strategy lands inside a wider state effort. In May the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture said the kingdom's food security model pairs local production growth with managed imports, and that the agricultural sector had grown at a compound annual rate above 7% over five years. Modern irrigation has cut non-renewable water use by 52% against 2016, the ministry said, while agricultural and food commodity output exceeded 16 million tons in 2024 and the sector contributed about $31.5 billion to GDP.
Self-sufficiency figures from GASTAT show where the gaps are. Several categories cleared 100% in 2024: dates at 121%, dairy at 131%, table eggs at 103% and shrimp at 149%. Poultry meat stood at 72% and red meat at 62%. Those two numbers explain why NADEC's investment tilts toward protein — the country still imports a large share of the meat it eats, and the Hilton Foods venture and Haradh slaughterhouse are aimed squarely at that shortfall.
