Browse Data and Analysis

The Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) projects domestic wheat production at 700,000 metric tons (MT) in MY 2021/2022, up approximately 17 percent from USDA’s official estimate of 600,000 MT. Experts anticipate local domestic wheat production could reach 1 million metric tons (MMT) in MY 2022/2023 to offset expected import delays from Russia and Ukraine as a result of the ongoing war.

Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Arab world and home to a growing food manufacturing and processing sector. Total investments in the sector are projected to reach $70 billion in 2030, an increase of approximately 59 percent over total investments in 2016.

Saudi Arabia’s barley imports for the first six months of Marketing Year (MY) 2021/22 is estimated at 2.36 million metric tons (MMT), a 41 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.

The major export certificates required by Saudi Arabia’s regulatory and import control agencies are included in this Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) - Certificates Report.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has published several new announcements, regulations, and standards at an extremely rapid pace.

Saudi regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients.

Saudi Arabia is a 20th largest importer of U.S. food and agricultural products in the world, with direct U.S. exports of $1.23 billion in 2020. Return to semi-normal living conditions are invigorating U.S. agricultural exports to the Kingdom as supported by the U.S. Customs data for January – August 2021 that show 16 percent increase compared to the same period in 2020.

Saudi Arabia’s barley imports for the first six months of MY2021/22 (July – Dec. 2021) is estimated at 2.8 million metric tons (MMT), a reduction of 30 percent compared to the same period last year.

As a result of millions of religious pilgrims, foreign workers, and a developing tourism industry Saudi Arabia has a large and resilient HRI sector.

In 2020, Post estimates poultry production in Saudi Arabia was 900,000 metric tons (MT) with that total jumping to 910,000 MT in 2021 based on official data released by the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) as well as discussions with major poultry producers.

On April 15, 2021, the Saudi government represented by the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) handed back the barley imports and distribution business to the private sector by selling 1.84 million metric tons (MMT) of barley through an open and competitive bidding process to six local grain traders.

New measures by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority will have serious repercussions on the Saudi import poultry market.