April 1/BMI -- Underlining its commitment to the Middle East region (specifically the Gulf), Nestlé has launched a new plant in Dubai with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons. Expected to largely produce powdered milk, the plant will also manufacture confectionery products and bottled water and ties in well with BMI's view that, notwithstanding the relatively modest size of the Gulf market, strong scope for branded-goods growth remains.
Although taken individually, the market size of most of the Gulf region (with the notable exception of Saudi Arabia) dictates that long-term volume growth opportunities are likely to be fairly modest, a combined non-Saudi Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) population of about 14 million suggests a fairly promising market size. Outside of the Gulf and into the wider Middle East, frontier markets likely led by Egypt have become increasingly important to Nestlé's regional business, as strong anticipated disposable income momentum drives up demand for branded products.