GCC Countries Strengthen Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries Sectors with $40 Billion Contribution in 2024
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations demonstrated significant advancements in agriculture, livestock, and fisheries in 2024, contributing approximately $40 billion to the region’s economy. This growth underscores the sectors’ vital role in enhancing food security and promoting economic diversification, even amid environmental challenges such as limited arable land and scarce water resources.
Economic Contributions and Growth
Data from the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf indicates that the agriculture and fishing sectors saw a 5.1 percent increase in their contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices, maintaining a steady share of 1.7 percent of the GCC’s total GDP.
Exports from these sectors rose to $7.8 billion, marking a 7.5 percent increase, while imports reached $38.7 billion, reflecting a 10.1 percent rise. These figures highlight ongoing efforts within the GCC to enhance production efficiency and fortify the food security framework.
Production Insights
The growth in these sectors was largely driven by increases in crop, livestock, and fisheries production, along with enhanced intra-GCC and external trade in agricultural products. Total crop production in the GCC reached approximately 12.7 million tonnes in 2024, up 3.9 percent from 12.2 million tonnes in 2023. Livestock numbers also increased, with a total of around 42.5 million head, representing a 3.6 percent growth compared to the previous year.
Vegetables emerged as the leading plant products by volume, comprising 45.8 percent of total crop production in the region. In livestock, sheep accounted for 60.5 percent of the total, with 25.7 million head, followed by goats at approximately 12.5 million head, camels at 3.2 million head, and cattle at around 1.2 million head.
Livestock Production Trends
In livestock production, GCC countries experienced notable growth across several key indicators. Table egg production reached about 12 billion eggs in 2024, reflecting an 8.4 percent increase from 11 billion eggs in 2023. Saudi Arabia led this production with a 70.4 percent share, followed by Kuwait at 10.8 percent, the UAE at 9.4 percent, and Oman at 8.2 percent.
Chicken meat production also saw significant growth, reaching around 1.6 million tonnes, compared to 1.4 million tonnes the previous year, indicating a robust 17.9 percent increase. This trend suggests a continued expansion in the region’s livestock and food production chains.
Fisheries Sector Growth
The fisheries sector in the GCC also reported impressive growth, with total production reaching around 1.1 million tonnes in 2024, up 12.2 percent from the previous year. This sector’s performance reflects an increasing interest in fisheries and aquaculture as essential avenues for supporting food security and diversifying local production, particularly given the GCC’s extensive coastlines and strong logistics capabilities.
Land Use and Agricultural Challenges
Despite the positive growth, the data reveals that the total land area of GCC countries is approximately 2.4 million square kilometers, with only 9.2 thousand square kilometers allocated for agriculture—just 0.4 percent of the total area. This limited agricultural land highlights the geographical and environmental challenges that hinder agricultural expansion, prompting GCC nations to enhance resource-use efficiency and invest in modern agricultural technologies.
Intra-GCC Trade Dynamics
Intra-GCC trade in agricultural products reached around $4.8 billion in 2024, up from $4.5 billion in 2023, reflecting a 7.2 percent increase. Intra-GCC fish exports also grew, reaching approximately $214.4 million compared to $189.3 million the previous year, marking a 13.3 percent rise. These figures illustrate the increasing level of trade and food integration among GCC countries and the growing role of certain member states as regional logistics hubs for the redistribution of agricultural and fisheries products.
Strategic Initiatives for Agricultural Integration
The strong performance in these sectors indicates that GCC countries are advancing their agricultural integration through a unified strategy focused on optimal water resource use, securing domestic food supplies, increasing production, and fostering joint projects with private sector involvement.
This strategy is bolstered by various joint GCC programs, including the Joint Programme for Coordinating Agricultural Plans and Policies, the Joint Programme for Surveys, Utilisation and Maintenance of Natural Resources, and the Joint Programme for Food Agricultural Production. Additionally, a comprehensive set of unified agricultural laws governs aspects such as seeds, fertilisers, agricultural quarantine, and the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
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Published on 2026-03-09 20:54:00 • By Editorial Desk
