The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources revealed that investment in the Kingdom’s confectionery and chocolate industry had reached 35 million riyals, injected into 1,066 factories, as of mid-July.
A report issued by the National Center for Industrial and Mining Information stated that investment in confectionery and chocolate factories accounts for 1.38 % of total investment in all Saudi factories, noting that foreign investment in the confectionery industry accounted for 3 % of total investments, while Saudi investors accounted for 92 % of the sector, and 5 % was distributed among joint ventures.
The report indicated that the Riyadh region accounted for the largest share of factories, with 377 factories representing 35 % of the total number of factories, followed by Makkah with approximately 294 factories, while the number of confectionery and chocolate factories in the Al-Qassim region stood at 133. Large factories operating in the confectionery and chocolate sector accounted for 50 %, while small establishments accounted for 36 %.
By type of final product, date ma’amoul factories ranked first with 81 factories, followed by chocolate factories with 43, and cake factories came in third with 38.
The report noted that, in terms of investment size, factories producing gateau, petit fours, and cakes ranked first with 235 factories and investments totaling 11.9 million riyals, followed by baklava, kunafa, and ma’amoul factories with 430 factories and investments totaling 9.2 million riyals, cocoa factories (in block or paste form) ranked third with 134 factories and investments totaling 5.6 million riyals, followed by sugar confectionery factories, which numbered 123 with investments exceeding 3.3 million riyals, and the number of white chocolate factories stood at 73, with total investments exceeding 3.2 million riyals.