RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is boosting wheat reserves to cover its needs for a year instead of six months, the head of the Kingdom's grains authority said. The Kingdom is raising its reserves following a recommendation by the Shoura Council, Waleed Elkhereiji, head of the Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization, told state new agency SPA late Monday. Like other Gulf states, the Kingdom suffered when international food prices spiked in 2008, forcing up its import bill. It has since sought to lease and buy farmland in developing nations to improve the security of its food supplies. Current wheat reserves stand at 1.4 million tons plus a supply of 700,000 tons by April, Elkhereiji said, adding that the Kingdom was expanding domestic feed production. The comments come after executives and officials at the chamber of commerce said Saudi Arabia needed to build up its strategic reserves in foods such as wheat as a buffer against rising global prices for basic commodities. The United Nations' food agency (FAO) said earlier this month that food prices had hit a record high last month above 2008 levels. Wheat prices rose 47 percent last year, corn more than 50 percent and US soybeans by 34 percent. The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization said in its report key grains prices could rise further.
