Which markets in the Gulf, the Levant and Africa buy the most European food preparations?

Source: Eurostat Comext, dataset DS-045409, reporter EU-27, flow export, product 210690, value in euros. Changes and per head figures are our calculations (per head: the 2025 value divided by the 2025 population from the World Bank). 2025 figures are the latest available (dataset updated 15 September 2026) and may be revised. The subheading is wider than supplements, and supplements can also enter under other headings. The 18 markets are the ones we chose for the Gulf, the Levant and Africa; the table is not a list of every destination.

* Eurostat's partner code for South Africa includes Namibia.

Which markets buy the most European food preparations?

Saudi Arabia and the UAE together took EUR 584.0 million of the EUR 1,484.6 million sent to the 18 markets in 2025, which is 39%. The Gulf states in the table make up 45% of the total and the African markets 48%; Algeria, South Africa, Morocco and Egypt each take between 7% and 10%.

The regional rows are our sums of the rows in the first table. In 2023 the same 18 markets took EUR 1,369.7 million, so the total rose by 8% in two years.

Is this the size of the food supplement market?

No. Subheading 2106 90 ("Other") of heading 2106 covers food preparations not specified elsewhere in the tariff, and supplements are one of many products entered under it; supplements can also be entered under other headings. The figures indicate how much European food preparations move, not a market size, and say nothing about retail sales or goods from other origins.

The UK Trade Tariff, chapter 21, additional note 5, states that preparations presented in measured doses, such as capsules, tablets, pastilles and pills, and intended for use as food supplements are classified under heading 2106. That is a British note, not the text of the heading, and the EU Combined Nomenclature may word this differently. Customs classify each product on its composition and presentation.

Eurostat records the value of goods crossing a border, in euros. It does not record units, shelf prices or what was sold. The 2025 figures are the latest available and may be revised.

Which markets are growing and which are falling?

Lebanon grew fastest in the table, from EUR 34.3 million in 2023 to EUR 54.6 million in 2025, up 59%. Côte d'Ivoire rose 55%, Ghana 29%, Algeria 27%, Morocco 23% and Egypt 22%. Saudi Arabia and the UAE rose 8%, South Africa 1%. Nigeria fell 22%, Kenya 51% and Ethiopia 84%.

The data give no reason for any of these moves, and we do not offer one. Two cautions apply when reading them. A small base moves a lot on a single large shipment: Ethiopia's 2024 and 2025 values are EUR 4.2 and 4.3 million. And the series is in euros, so a change can come from price or from volume, and the table cannot separate the two.

How does the picture change per head of population?

On a per head basis the UAE is first at EUR 20.26, then Kuwait at EUR 10.57, Saudi Arabia at EUR 9.49, Qatar at EUR 9.44 and Lebanon at EUR 9.34. Egypt is at EUR 0.86 and Nigeria at EUR 0.32, although both appear in the top seven by total value.

This is why Lebanon, with EUR 54.6 million, sits next to Saudi Arabia in the per head column. It is a small country in the table with a comparatively large flow. Per head figures are an arithmetic ratio of a customs value and a headcount. They do not mean that each resident buys that amount, because the value includes goods that are re-exported, held in stock or not food supplements.

Why do market size reports give such different numbers?

For Saudi Arabia alone, five public reports give figures from US$ 272 million to US$ 4.6 billion, about 17 times apart (our arithmetic, and the years differ). The wording of what is measured differs, the years differ, and the summaries we read do not state the basis of the figure we quote.

The same publisher, Ken Research, gives US$ 890 million in one report and US$ 4.5 billion in another, about five times apart. Neither can be called the true figure, and we do not rely on any of them. ChemLinked cites Statista for the vitamins and minerals segment; we did not open it.

A customs value is a different kind of number again: goods crossing a border at declared value, not sales on a shelf. That is the reason the table above uses Eurostat to compare countries with each other, and why it does not claim to measure any one of them.

Can I use these figures to choose a market?

Use them as a first filter that shows where European goods under this subheading already move, not as a forecast and not as a sales estimate. They cannot tell you whether a market has room for a new brand, what shelf price it bears, or what the rules require.

For the next step, read the page for the market you shortlist: Middle East for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Lebanon, North Africa for Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and Africa for the sub-Saharan markets and South Africa. They set out the authority, label language, who files and which documents are asked for. If you sell through a local importer, For distributors explains who registers a product and which documents come with each batch.

Where does the manufacturing group fit in these markets?

The manufacturing group behind HYPERPHARM exports to 42 countries, and the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are among its main markets. These are the group's figures, not those of HYPERPHARM OÜ, the company registered in 2019 that owns this site. The group already supplies many clients in Africa; we do not list their countries.

The table in this article is public customs data and has nothing to do with our order book. We make food supplements under your brand, white label from a ready-made formula or private label from your own, and seal tablets, capsules and softgels in blisters. We do not register products in the country of sale; the brand owner, your importer or a local applicant files.

What your situation decides

Each line shows what a choice costs you in time, quantity or risk, not in money.

Questions buyers ask about EU exports and market size

Read more

Middle East · North Africa · Africa · For distributors · Export documents · Minimum order quantity · Lead times