Korean Smart Farm Strawberries Grown and Consumed in Saudi Arabia

Domestic Consortium Signs JV Establishment Agreement with Saudi Company

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 13th that a consortium of Korean smart farm companies, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture (JV) with a Saudi greenhouse company for year-round strawberry cultivation. The consortium includes small and medium-sized enterprises such as Pomit, Nongshim, Agrosolution Korea, and MS.

The Saudi greenhouse company, established in 1987, is an agricultural product cultivation and distribution firm. It operates nine farms with 80 hectares of greenhouses across Saudi Arabia. They cultivate various agricultural products including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and eggplants, supplying them to supermarket chains, hotels, and restaurants.

From the front row left, Yang Sang-hoon, Branch Manager of 4mit, Mohammad Alashid, Chairman of Saudi Greenhouse, and from the back row left, Kim Doo-sik, Head of KOTRA Riyadh Trade Center, Mohammad Alohali, Director of Saudi Investment Department, are signing a business agreement. / Photo by KOTRA

The Korean smart farm company consortium and the Saudi greenhouse company plan to build a showcase farm in Riyadh this year and begin pilot strawberry production. From the second half of next year, they will construct at least five commercial strawberry smart farms in areas near Riyadh to produce and distribute approximately 30 tons of Korean strawberries locally each month. In addition to strawberries, they will create business opportunities for cultivating premium agricultural products through smart farms, expanding the project scale by more than 100 million USD.

KOTRA evaluated this cooperation case as a model example of domestic companies entering the Middle East and Saudi markets. Yang Gi-mo, head of KOTRA’s Middle East Regional Headquarters, said, "We hope that the establishment of this joint venture will serve as a stepping stone for our smart farm companies’ full-scale entry into the Middle East," adding, "We will contribute to achieving the government’s export-plus goals."