How to find importers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

Each count is the number of companies named as buyers in the export records of supplying countries such as India, Pakistan and Vietnam (mirror data), not in Saudi or UAE customs records. It shows the size of the pool, not market size. The provider does not state the period, so a company may have bought only in the past. Exporting countries whose records are not in the data, China among them, are missing (how the counts are built). The pages show totals only. Names come from a buyer search or a customs data service (how customs data works, providers compared).

• Many UAE buyers trade for the wider region. The USDA FAS UAE Exporter Guide 2025 calls the UAE a leading re-export hub. Ask each UAE candidate which countries it sells into, so you know whether it is an end buyer or a trader.
• Rice origin differs by market. In these records, India is the largest supplier to Saudi rice buyers and Pakistan is the largest supplier to UAE rice buyers. A Pakistani exporter in Saudi Arabia competes mainly against Indian rice.
• Compare buyers with declared value. For cardamom, Saudi buyers record $23.8M across 48 companies, and UAE buyers record $27.7M across 106. Divide value by companies for your product. Where a pool is smaller but carries more value, the average declared value per buyer is higher. It is an average: a few large buyers can carry most of it.

trade.gov says supermarkets have the largest share of UAE retail sales. It names the major groups: Carrefour, EMKE (Lulu) Group, Nesto Group, Spinneys and the cooperative stores (Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Union). Ask each UAE candidate which of these chains it supplies today. Then ask for a recent delivery note to one of them.

trade.gov wrote the line below for United States firms. Confirm your own position with your importer or with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, which the same page names for business registration rules.

The same page says many United States firms, especially small and medium ones, still use local partners to handle import and standards testing rules. The USDA FAS Saudi Exporter Guide 2025 reports that about 20 importers account for the bulk of United States food imports. That count covers United States food only. The report says local importers prefer to start with small orders, so plan a trial order and agree payment terms for a first order early. Five chains hold more than 80% of retail revenue: LuLu, Tamimi, Panda, Danube and Othaim. Some large importers and chains pack food under their own brand abroad. If you can pack private label, say so in your first email. Major retailers charge listing and other fees, so ask the importer who pays them before you agree price.

These points come from the USDA FAS Saudi Arabia FAIRS report 2024 and the Saudi Exporter Guide 2025. The Exporter Guide says SFDA has been issuing new regulations and standards at a rapid pace, so confirm each point with your importer.

• Halal certificates. Certificates for poultry, livestock meat (products and ingredients) and foods made with animal rennet, gelatin, lipase or pepsin must come from a body accredited by SFDA's Halal Center. If a spice blend contains any of these, raise it at the start.
• Registration. The FAIRS report (sections VI and IX) covers imported food product registration, electronic customs clearance and registration of foreign establishments. Open those sections, then ask your importer which apply to your product and what it needs from you before you agree a shipment date.
• Two dates on every pack. Saudi Arabia keeps a dual date labelling system (production and expiry) for all food products. Put both dates on your bag artwork.

1. 1

   Note the private-label brands on Saudi shelves

   The USDA FAS Saudi Exporter Guide 2025 names LuLu, Tamimi, Panda, Danube and Othaim as the five largest chains and says online grocery shopping is thriving. Where a chain has an online store, open its rice or spice pages and list the brands you do not recognise as manufacturer brands. Where a pack names the company that packed or imported it, note that name too. Then search for the company behind each brand.

2. 2

   Confirm UAE licences on the National Economic Register

   The federal National Economic Register, linked from u.ae, lets you enquire about economic licences, an economic activity or trade names. The same u.ae page lists the licensing authorities, including the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. Check every UAE agent or importer here before talks go further.

3. 3

   Ask a Dubai candidate for a Chamber letter

   The Chamber issues official letters to members on request, and these can include verification of company registration. Dubai Chamber reports 292,486 active member companies, so membership on its own tells you little; the letter is useful because it can confirm registration. Ask each Dubai candidate for one.

4. 4

   Check identity, owners and sanctions before you quote

   For each shortlisted company, confirm its registry identity, its owners, and that neither appears on a sanctions or PEP list. The steps are in how to verify a foreign buyer.

Below is a live, signed-out Find Buyers search, with company names removed and each reason shortened.

The first two results match the pack formats in the query (5 kg bags, 4 x 10 kg packs). The third matched on channel, not pack, so confirm pack sizes with it first. Four of the five sell Indian basmati today, so a Pakistani exporter is asking them to add or switch origin. The rice row of the table shows how large the Indian share is in Saudi records. The UAE result supplies both countries, which is the re-export pattern described above. For a named company, Reevi's Check a Lead page gives a free basic report covering registry identity, ownership and sanctions screening. Paid Reevi plans start at $9.90 a month for 25 buyers a month (pricing).