OUD

The volume of investments in the incense and oud sector is estimated at more than SR15 billion ($4 billion) annually, local media said quoting an expert.

Demand on the incense and oud sector in the holy month of Ramadan grows to nearly 80 percent, Said Al-Sihaimi told Al-Watan daily.

In this context, a specialized Gulf study said the volume of trade in the Saudi market has grown eight folds since 2010 where the figure was not more than SR1.8 billion ($500 million), the daily said.

Accordingly, the market has extensively expanded coupled with the entry of foreign companies, notably Asian, due to growing trends to purchase incense and oud products, the report said.

On the other hand, the expert warned against fraud practices in the sector, which would reach 40 percent. He said regulatory bodies in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry could not control such practices due to the absence of experts in an industry, which relies primarily on the secrecy of craft.

The Western Region captured the biggest portion of sales of incense and oud products for two reasons — first, it is a center of Umrah and Haj performers and, second, diversity of products compared to other regions, local dealers said.

On who is controlling the market, the expert said the dominance is close between citizens and expatriates. However, the Saudi nationals have shown strong presence in the market, which exceeded 45 percent where many of them gained cumulative experience to run business of their own, he pointed out.

 
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