The overall Middle East and Africa (MEA) hardcopy peripherals market (HCP) grew 17,4% year on year in Q2 2017 to total 1,19-million units, according to IDC.
Much of this growth was spurred by accelerated demand for lower-priced inkjet devices, with the research and consulting firm’s Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker showing that the market’s value declined -5% over the same period to total $367,12-million.
After a significant slowdown in economic activity in 2016, a stabilisation and slight recovery in global oil prices during the first half of 2017 helped drive demand in some of the region’s largest economies, which are dependent on oil production. Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Nigeria were among the markets to post the highest growth rates in shipment terms, with colour inkjet devices enjoying particularly strong gains. However, markets such as Egypt and South Africa continue to report large declines in both units and value due to subdued demand caused by rising inflation.
The entry-level segment (devices priced below $200) accounts for the majority of the region’s shipments, and represents more than three-quarters of the total inkjet market’s value. This space is supported by demand from the home user and small office/home office (SOHO) segments, and HP Inc continues to dominate here, enjoying more than 60% unit share of the MEA inkjet market in Q2 2017.
While the value of the overall MEA laser market (mono and color) declined -5,6% year on year in Q2 2017 to total $304,10-million, shipments increased 4,4% over the same period to reach 576 189 units. This can be attributed to the strong growth seen in the mono laser segment, which contributed 33,7% of the overall MEA HCP market’s units in Q2 2017.
Much of this mono laser growth was spurred by shipments of A4 devices from the 21-30 pages per minute (ppm) segment. This reflects an increased focus from vendors (especially HP Inc and Canon) on introducing more affordable devices to cater to the needs of the growing small and medium-sized business segment, which is experiencing a recovery following improved economic activity across most of the MEA region.
In line with the overall market, the color laser segment experienced a slight increase in units year on year in Q2 2017 and a decline in value to total 107 820 units worth $123,54-million. This was mainly due to the improved affordability of such devices, with increased competition leading to a decrease in prices.
Serial dot matrix (SDM) shipments declined -1,8% compared to the same quarter in 2016 to total 26 503 units, with the market’s value falling -10,2% to $8,47-million. Demand for SDM devices is expected to decline significantly over the coming years given the adoption of newer and more advanced technologies.
