RIYADH — Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) has completed procedures to import 900,000 tons of fodder barley between August and October. This represents the third batch of barley import, which is expected to arrive in 15 consignments. SAGO Gov. Ahmed Bin Abdulaziz Al-Faris said on Thursday that the third batch would help meet local demand and maintain the country's strategic stocks of fodder barley. In September last year, SAGO completed procedures for tenders to import 1,500,000 tons of fodder barley from EU, Australia, North and South America and the Black Sea countries. Al-Faris had said at the time that 11 international companies were awarded the contract for supplying through 17 vessels at different ports in the Kingdom. He said the move came as an extension of a plan to cover the local demand for fodder barley and preserve the strategic stocks. SAGO aims to maintain its status as one of the most important sectors in the field of food security by following the best practices to develop and enhance its activities, he said. SAGO also seeks to supply high-quality wheat flour that meets the consumer expectations and achieves the efficiency in production. Saudi ministries have been continuing their efforts to establish strategic storage facilities all over the Kingdom to contain negative effects of global economic crises. The strategic storage aims at ensuring adequate supply of food, water and oil and other most demanded goods for more than a year at times of crises. A year ago poultry prices recorded a sharp increase in the Kingdom when fodder factories decided to raise their prices as a result of drought that hit agriculture in Brazil and Argentina that produce soybeans and barley, the main ingredients of chicken feed. Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli had emphasized the importance of the Kingdom's strategic food security program. "Saudi Arabia will need wheat, barley, rice, cooking oil, soybeans and meat in large quantities by 2030 to meet the country's growing population," he added. The Kingdom meets its food requirements by importing from foreign countries and investing in agricultural projects abroad. "Today everybody knows the significance of strategic food storage projects to meet the Kingdom's future requirements," the minister explained. SAGO has a capacity to store two million metric tons of wheat to meet the Kingdom's needs for at least seven months.
