RIYADH: Abdullah Bin Ahmad Zainal, Minister of Trade and Industry, said in a speech Sunday that the Kingdom has adopted a group of fundamental criteria and steps relating to international agricultural investment and food security. Zainal spoke at a workshop to discuss the Kingdom's strategic food reserve, in the presence of Fahd Balghunaim, Minister of Agriculture. The workshop was organized by Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Food Security Committee, in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Zainal said the moves, made to support King Abdullah's initiative on Saudi agricultural investment, include establishing an office at the ministry to support and execute the program and pursuing agriculture investments in countries with good capabilities and attractive investment regulations. He pointed out that 27 countries have been identified for that purpose, a technical team has visited 14 of them and a consultancy firm has been contracted to develop a strategy for the food commodities reserve. The private sector will be the main investor in these countries, he said, adding the government will support investors, provide incentives and allocate part of the production for local markets in the foreign countries, which will protect the investments and provide guarantees based on long-term agreements. Balghunaim, who said strategic food storage is a main pillar of efforts to achieve food security, expects that countries all over the world will face a new global reality and Saudi Arabia must be prepared for it. Abdul Rahman Al-Juraisi, Chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Kingdom has started creating a stockpile of food to secure its citizens requirements and prevent crises arising from shortages that could occur in the midst of changing and unstable international markets. He said he hoped the workshop would develop recommendations that establish visions, regulations and procedures that achieve the goals. The Chairman of the Chamber's Food Security Committee, Sa'ad Al-Khuraif, emphasized that strategic storage of food is a key element of food security. The workshop included the presentation of several working papers including one in which Saleh Al-Khaleel, Ministry of Trade Assistant Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs, explained the concept of strategic storage to preserve food security, its aims and the means to build it. The paper and presentation included a review of the experiences of several countries including the United States, Japan and China. The Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization's Director General Waleed Al-Khuraiji presented a paper addressing the Kingdom's strategic wheat reserve, which included information about international sources of the commodity. The paper showed the Kingdom has a 1.4-million ton strategic reserve of wheat, which can cover six months of demand. Expanding the reserve to cover a year of consumption requires expanding the organization's storage silos, said Al-Khuraiji, who reviewed a number of projects the organization is executing for that purpose. Another working paper on foreign agricultural investments, their significance in strategic storage of food commodities and strengthening food security for the Kingdom was presented by Abdullah Al-Oabid, the Ministry of Agriculture Undersecretary for Agricultural Research and Development. He addressed the Kingdom's basic requirements for wheat, corn, meat and other commodities; the concept and requirements of strategic storage of food commodities; Saudi foreign agricultural investment; and King Abdullah's initiative of agricultural investment. Abdullah Balsharaf, a member of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke about the strategic storage of rice, noting that 60 percent of the world's rice is produced and consumed in China and India. He said that in the next three years, the Kingdom should increase its rice stockpile to 600,000 tons.
