Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are building new industrial capacity for food production, with public programmes and private contracts purchasing complete preparation, processing and preservation lines. The Parma district, which in 2025 exported almost 2 billion euros of food processing equipment, is one of the manufacturing hubs best placed to meet this demand. This report gathers the essential data on demand, ongoing projects and the relevant regulations.
| Subject | Machinery and lines for food preparation, processing and preservation |
|---|---|
| Market | Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates |
| Reference district | Parma (food processing equipment) |
| Document | 7-page report, 18 sources, in Italian, English and Arabic |
| Upcoming events | Saudi Food Manufacturing (Jeddah, 27-29 September 2026), Cibus Tec (Parma, 27-30 October 2026), Gulfood Manufacturing (Dubai, 3-5 November 2026) |
Parma is not only the "Food Valley" of food products: it is also one of the European hubs that build the machines with which those products are processed. In 2025 the province exported 1.957 billion euros of food processing equipment, the second largest export item after food itself, while machinery in the broader sense reached 2.8 billion euros, growing by 11.3% – the strongest growth among the province's major sectors. In the same year, the province's overall exports to Africa grew by 52%.
In the Gulf, demand is being driven both by public programmes and by private projects already under way. Saudi Arabia has over 1,900 food-processing plants and is seeking a further 78 billion riyals of investment by 2035; in Jeddah, what is described as the world's largest food hub has been created. The United Arab Emirates, through its National Food Security Strategy 2051, aims to support up to 200 food factories and to replace 2 billion dirhams a year of imports with local production.
Against this backdrop, Italy is already the leading supplier: customs data show that in the first part of 2025 Italian exports of food processing machinery to the UAE reached 107.3 million euros, up 87.5%, with a market share of 35.4%. For a Gulf buyer, the Parma district offers a specific advantage: assembling a complete line with manufacturers who already work together, testing it in Italy before shipment, and being able to count on spare parts and technical support within easy reach.
What determines the outcome of a project of this kind is not only the price of the machine, but the ability to define, in good time, the technical specification, regulatory compliance for the destination country, and payment and support terms. These are precisely the elements that make the difference between an offer that stays on paper and an order that reaches final testing.
The province of Parma closed 2025 with exports of over 10 billion euros, up 5.3% on 2024. Food remains the leading driver, at 3.084 billion euros, but immediately after comes food processing equipment, at 1.957 billion, ahead of general mechanical engineering and pharmaceuticals. The most recent detailed picture of the sector counted 490 companies, 200 of which with more than ten employees, 9,600 workers and turnover of around 2.2 billion euros in 2020: figures from a few years ago, but ones that describe well the structure of the sector, made up of a few large companies and a dense network of specialised workshops.
The mechanical engineering district has grown alongside the food district: Parma's Food Valley is worth 8.2 billion euros in turnover, with over 1,052 companies and 15,000 direct employees at its core, and includes supply chains such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, pasta, milk and dairy products, processed tomatoes and preserved fish products. Manufacturers have developed their technologies by working every day for demanding customers just a few kilometres away, before taking them abroad. The families of technologies present in the district cover the entire cycle: preparation, including receiving, washing, sorting, peeling, cutting and dosing of raw materials; processing, including concentration, cooking, mixing, extrusion, heat treatment and lines dedicated to milk, meat and plant-based products; preservation, including pasteurisation, sterilisation, aseptic filling, freezing and packaging.
In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Industry records over 1,900 food-processing plants, with investment already exceeding 88 billion riyals; the industrial strategy aims to attract a further 78 billion riyals by 2035, to bring food exports to 30 billion riyals and to triple the sector's contribution to GDP. In Jeddah, the food hub promoted by MODON covers over 11 million square metres, with investment of up to 20 billion riyals and 43,000 jobs expected by 2035. On the private side, Almarai has signed contracts worth 276 million riyals for fish-processing plants and lines, and is increasing its poultry processing capacity from around 250 to 450 million birds.
In the United Arab Emirates, the National Food Security Strategy 2051 aims for first place in the Global Food Security Index. At the "Make it in the Emirates" summit in May 2026, the government set precise targets: 2 billion dirhams a year of food imports replaced by local production, support for up to 200 food factories, and an increase in local production capacity of between 15 and 30%. In the KEZAD economic zone, a beverage plant covering 32,500 square metres with around 300 million dirhams of investment, and an infant food plant worth around 150 million dirhams with a capacity of 90 million units a year, are already under construction.
The technical specification must define the product, hourly capacity, formats, hygiene standards and site utilities: mains frequency is 60 Hz in Saudi Arabia and 50 Hz in the UAE, a detail that affects the electrical design of the lines. Offers are compared on the basis of complete lines, with factory acceptance testing (FAT) in Italy prior to shipment and site acceptance testing (SAT) at start-up.
On the compliance side, in Saudi Arabia the SASO technical regulation on machinery safety has been in force since March 2024, and regulated products enter the country through the SABER platform, with product and shipment certification. The applicable regulation should in any case be verified case by case according to the customs code, in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. On the commercial side, the prevailing practice is a documentary letter of credit, with the balance linked to shipment and testing, and with critical spare parts, training and remote support set out in the contract – indications that should nonetheless be checked against the specifications of each individual project.
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The data cited come from public sources, including the Parma Chamber of Industry (Unione Parmense degli Industriali), the Emilia Chamber of Commerce, the Saudi Ministry of Industry, the government of the United Arab Emirates and the Italian Trade Agency (ICE); they should be checked case by case against the specifications of each project. Updated as at 24 September 2026.
By filling in the form, you will receive by email your personal link to the seven-page report, with full data on demand, ongoing projects and the relevant regulations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
