Investments in Qatar’s food industries stood at $308mn out of the total manufacturing investments worth $82.6bn in 2016, a 0.4% share of the total investments, the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (Goic) has reported.
Goic said the sector employed 5,783 workers out of 80,457 in the manufacturing industries, which translates to a 7.2% share of manufacturing sector’s labour force.
The report sheds light on the development of Qatar’s food industries sector and the role it plays in food security, given its status as “one of the most important manufacturing activities,” Goic said.
By the end of 2016, the total number of food industries factories stood at 66, representing 8% of the total manufacturing factories in the country, the report said. 
It included data on the number of factories and investments compared to the total investments in the manufacturing sector.
The report also clarified the specific activities in the food industries sector, including processing and preserving of meat and fish and their products, processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, manufacturing of vegetable and animal oils and fats, manufacturing of dairy products, manufacturing of grain mill and bakery products and macaroni, and manufacturing of prepared animal feeds.
The number of factories in the food industries sector increased from 48 in 2012 to 66 in 2016, a CAGR of 6.6%. Total investments grew at a CAGR of 7.2% from $218mn in 2012. In addition, the workforce increased from 3,132 to 5,783 workers, a CAGR of 13.1% during the same period.
In 2016, the manufacture of grain mill and bakery products and the manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled water ranked first in terms of total number of firms with 28.8% each.
This was followed by the manufacture of other food products (not elsewhere classified) at 19.7%, processing and preserving of meat and fish and their products (10.6%), the manufacture of dairy products (7.6%), processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables (1.5%), and manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (1.5%).
The processing and preserving of meat and fish and their products ranked first in terms of investments with a 29.2% share of Qatar’s total investments in food industries in 2016 with $90mn in investments. 
This was followed by the manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled waters (24.5% share or $76mn in investments), manufacture of other food products (20.1%, $62mn), manufacture of grain mill and bakery products and macaroni (11.3%, $35mn), manufacture of dairy products (10.7%, $33mn), manufacture of prepared animal feeds (2.7%, $8mn), processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables (1.1%, $3mn), and the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (0.4%). 
In 2016, the manufacture of soft drinks, production of mineral waters and other bottled water ranked first in terms of labour force with a 61.7% share of the total food industries workforce in Qatar.
This was followed by the manufacture of grain mill and bakery products and macaroni (12.1%), processing and preserving of meat, fish and their products (9.1%), manufacture of other food products NEC  (8.4%), manufacture of dairy products (7.5%), manufacture of prepared animal feeds (0.6%), and the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (0.2%).


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