How self-sufficient is Saudi Arabia when it comes to food?

Food self-sufficiency in Saudi Arabia has become a topic of interest to many considering the latest seizures of drugs hidden inside fruit imports in the Kingdom.

Public policy analyst Saeed al-Wahabi took to Twitter to answer this question in numbers, citing the country’s Environment ministry.

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In terms of meat and protein, the Kingdom’s self-sufficiency rates for red meat, fish and shrimp stand at 41 percent, 37 percent and 105 percent respectively.

Regarding vegetables, the country’s self-sufficiency rates for beans, eggplant, potatoes, cantaloupe, onions and carrots account for 166 percent, 105 percent, 88 percent, 81 percent, 46 percent and 25 percent respectively, according to the Twitter post.

For fruits, dates account for the most, sitting at 111 percent while figs, cucumber, watermelon, tomato, grapes, mango, citrus fruits and bananas account for 104 percent, 99 percent, 98 percent, 73 percent, 59 percent, 25 percent, 13 percent and four percent respectively.

In July, the country’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a national company specialized in organic agriculture in an effort to bolster the Kingdom’s production to meet the increasing demand, as organic products are a large market for the country’s consumers, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The MoU planned to ensure that farmers will be provided with a backup in terms of packing, packaging and post-harvest operations.

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