Saudi Arabia: Grain and Feed Annual
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Saudi Arabia partially rescinded a virtual ban on domestic wheat production and is projected to produce 500,000 MT in MY 2019/20. The Saudi government’s decisions to reduce irrigation are driving this dramatic increase from 10,000 MT in MY 2018/19. Wheat imports are projected to fall by 17 percent to 2.86 MMT in MY 2018/19. Due to winter rains that have reduced demand, we estimate MY2019/20 imports of barley at 6.5 million MT, 1.4 million MT lower than prior year level. Because of increased demand by animal feed producers, we estimate MY2018/19 corn imports at 4.4 million MT, up about 11 percent over MY2017/18 levels. MY 2018/19 Saudi rice imports are estimated at 1.35 million MT, up by nearly 4 percent from last year.