Proceedings of 26th International Business Research Conference
7 - 8 April 2014, Imperial College, London, UK, ISBN: 978-1-922069-46-7
Meat Consumption Pattern in Saudi Arabia
Saad Albalawi
The agricultural sector plays an important role in Saudi Arabia, and it effectively contributes to the domestic
production in support of the national economy. Meat being an important part of the livestock sub-sector
forms a part of the protein intake of a person, and protein indeed aids a person’s body growth. Thus,
consumption demand for meat and meat products in recent years has been growing unabated in this part of
the world due to both economic and social changes which have been taking place over the last decade or
two. Investigation on the consumption demand of meat and meat products is thus overdue. In the past,
there were some attempts made, but those studies had limited coverage and focus.
The usefulness of the present research is strong and would last long. It is a comprehensive study of an
important protein component in the Saudi diet. Saudis have traditionally relied on lamb, goat, and camel for
their sustenance, however, the socio-economic changes over the last half a century has changed the food
consumption habits, preferring mainly beef and chicken meat. Due to its geographical location, Saudi
government has limited opportunity to feed its population and has embarked upon a food security program
that involves land purchases for developing food chains with the partnership of existing food producers at
home and abroad. This research aims at enhancing information for this important political and commercial
decision making by identifying trends in Saudi meat demand and meat production with a view to identifying
the factors that can be reliably used to assess meat and meat product consumption patterns.
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Mr. Saad Albalawi, International Business And Asian Studies, Griffith University, Australia.