Green marketing and export competitiveness of Saudi agrofood products: Analyzing environmental branding as a driver of trade

Sustainability-driven marketing has become increasingly central to global agro-food trade, where environmental credentials serve as critical signals of quality and responsibility. While eco-labelling, sustainable packaging, and carbon-neutral certifications have been widely studied in Western and Asian contexts, limited evidence exists for how these strategies influence export competitiveness in Middle Eastern economies. This study addresses this gap by examining the role of green marketing practices in enhancing the competitiveness of Saudi agro-food exports, situated within the broader policy framework of Saudi Vision 2030. A mixed-method design was employed. Primary data were collected through a structured survey of 120 Saudi agro-food exporters, supplemented by expert evaluations for Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM). Statistical analyses, including correlation, regression, and ANOVA, were conducted to test the hypothesized relationships, while Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and TOPSIS methods were applied to rank the relative importance of strategies. The results revealed that eco-labelling, sustainable packaging, and carbon-neutral certifications each contributed significantly to export competitiveness, with eco-labelling exerting the strongest effect. ANOVA confirmed differences across product categories, with date exporters deriving the greatest benefit from environmental branding. The MCDM analysis consistently ranked eco-labelling as the top priority strategy, followed by carbon-neutral certification and sustainable packaging. The findings reinforce theoretical perspectives from the Resource-Based View (RBV), Stakeholder and Institutional Theories, and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). They suggest that environmental branding functions not merely as symbolic compliance but as a tangible driver of competitiveness in international trade. The study highlights managerial priorities and policy interventions needed to align Saudi agro-food exports with global sustainability expectations.