The Saudi government's failure in dealing with the ongoing global food crisis has deeply affected the food security file in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The Ukraine-Russia war has made the Arab region’s food security crisis worse, as the two countries locked in the conflict controlled nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports in 2021.
Wheat prices rose after the US Department of Agriculture issued its first world estimates for the 2022-23 crop season. The USDA expects total world wheat production will decline 0.6% in 2022/23 to 774.8 million tonnes, with a 35% drop in Ukraine accounting for the biggest shortfall. The World Bank also warned of a significant sudden rise in commodity prices.
Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
While the KSA has been able to overcome the natural obstacles that stand in the way of achieving food security in some commodities such as potatoes, dates, eggs and milk, securing wheat and rice remains the biggest challenge.
According to the world trade data, KSA is the world's second-largest rice exporter in 2020($1.45b). Saudi Arabia depends on imports to meet about 85% of its food security needs.
While the KSA economy is the largest economy in the Arab world, it ranks the last in the GCC's Food Security Index.
Sasha Marashlian, Managing Director of IMAGINE FMCG, expected an increase in food prices in the GCC countries by 17-20% in the next 18 months.
In the 1980s, KSA achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production three years after King Fahd became in office. One year later, it began exporting wheat to become the second-largest producer of wheat in the Arab world after Egypt.
A few years later, the total cultivated agricultural area was reduced to conserve groundwater. This growing food insecurity has forced KSA to invest heavily in agriculture in poor countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan.
However, the Quake Institute said that KSA has failed to increase export and reduce imports. The KSA imports most of its wheat from European Union countries and North America, as it ranks the second-largest importer of rice in the region after Iran with $1.45 billion.
Worldwide, food waste is one of the prime issues threatening food security, and the KSA is not an exception. With 427 kg of food wasted per capita per year, the country ranks among the top food wasters.
Ironically, the KSA has limited arable lands and scarce water resources to support mass-scale agriculture and to feed its increasing population, the KSA relies heavily on imports and subsidized food to meet needs.
