Food stocks remain stable in Saudi Arabia, agriculture minister assures

Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli on Saturday affirmed that there are no concerns regarding the availability of food commodities in the Kingdom amid the current Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

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The Kingdom has taken steps to maintain the stability of domestic supply in accordance with the food security strategy.

Al-Fadli, who is also the head of the food security committee, said that the supply chains of agricultural, livestock and food commodities are safe, reliable and ongoing, given the volume of domestic production and high sufficiency rates of many commodities.

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This is also the result of the multiple global import sources of imported goods, which preclude any scarcity of supply because of the crisis.

He added that the local stocks of basic food commodities (wheat, rice, sugar, food oils, poultry meat, red meat, fish, eggs, milk and its derivatives, vegetables and fruits, dates, barley, corn, soybeans and greenfeed), are all at safe levels and there is no fear of any shortage of supply.

The way in which the Kingdom dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, the repercussions of which exceeded the current crisis, is an example to be followed, Al-Fadli said, as Saudi Arabia’s food commodity markets had not experienced any supply shortages. The country has been ranked one of the world’s best in terms of food abundance, he added.