Deteriorating water quality, depleting natural water resources and growing health awareness will drive the water purifier market in Saudi Arabia to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over five per cent during 2015-20, a report said.

Saudi Arabia is a desert country with no permanent rivers or lakes and the region experiences very low annual rainfall, explained  the recently published "Saudi Arabia Water Purifiers Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020" by TechSci Research, a global market research and consulting company.

Desertification and depletion of underground water resources have contributed to the development of extensive seawater desalination facilities for making sea water potable, the report said.

In Saudi Arabia, the majority of groundwater aquifers present in the central and eastern parts are extremely saline and the water extracted needs to be desalinated before human consumption. Inhabitants of the kingdom majorly depend on municipal water, bottled water and well water.

Water purifiers market in Saudi Arabia is segmented into ultraviolet (UV), reverse osmosis (RO) and gravity/offline water purifiers. On account of unpotable water being supplied by the municipalities, higher water TDS (total dissolved solids) levels and increasing disposable income of consumers, inclination of consumers towards adoption of water purifiers is rising. During the forecast period, RO water purifiers are estimated to register the highest value growth.

Gravity water purifiers hold the second largest share in the Saudi Arabian water purifiers market, having gained grounds over the years on account of benefits such as low cost and easy maintenance.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is experiencing water hardness and contamination issues, thereby pushing the sales of water purifiers in the country,” said Karan Chechi, research director with TechSci Research.

“The central region accounted for the majority of the water purifier sales, followed by the eastern region. The major sources of water pollution in Saudi Arabia include unchecked industrial discharge by clay and glass, chemical, food and metal industries.

“The desalination industry in Saudi Arabia is impacting the marine ecosystems owing to the thermal pollution and elevated levels of salt and chlorine in return waters. Also, desalinated water being the major source of water supplied in urban areas becomes contaminated due to corrosion and leaching of chemicals from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes during transportation from the desalination plant to the house reservoirs or water tanks. All these factor would continue to boost water purifier sales in the country over the next five years,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service