UAE’s Hotpack Global will establish Saudi Arabia’s largest eco-friendly food packaging project

A new food packaging industry project for KSA: The Saudi Investment Ministry signed an investment agreement with UAE-based leading food packaging manufacturer Hotpack Global to set up one of the country’s biggest eco-friendly food packaging industry projects, the ministry said on Twitter. Financial details on the amount of funding or a timeline for kicking off operations were not disclosed, but the ministry estimates the value of the project will reach SAR 1 bn over the next seven years.

Who is Hotpack? The company provides food packaging solutions and disposable products in eco-friendly and biodegradable categories. It currently operates in over 28 locations across the region, UK, North America, and Africa, according to its website.

The use of biowaste is on the cards: The project aims to incorporate agricultural waste as one of the components of basic raw materials during their production process, according to the Tweet.

And we know the kingdom is ramping up efforts in biowaste recycling: Saudi Arabia’s state-owned National Agricultural Development Company signed an agreement with the Saudi Investment Recycling Company to jointly recycle 400k tons of biowaste yearly with the goal of converting the refuse into organic fertilizers in February. KSA produces the world’s largest amount of food waste on a per capita basis with over a third of food produced or imported by the kingdom going to waste, according to a study (pdf) published by King Saud University.