Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)
Saudi Arabia’s wheat imports will increase by 2% from 4.16 million tons in 2023-24 to 4.25 million tons in 2024-25, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
In its October 21 semi-annual report, the FAS stated that Saudi Arabia’s wheat production will increase to 1.5 million tons in 2023-24 from 1.2 million tons in 2022-24, compared to 625,000 tons in 2022-23. Domestic wheat consumption is estimated at 4.512 million tons in 2023-24 and is expected to increase by 4% annually.
The General Food Security Authority (GFSA), the country’s wheat import monopoly, is authorized to purchase up to 1.5 million tons of locally produced wheat in 2024-25 to meet the expected consumption of 4.69 million tons.
Russia was the main wheat supplier to Saudi Arabia in 2023-24 with a market share of 49 percent, followed by the EU-27 with 41 percent and Brazil with 10 percent.
Consumption of corn, which is mainly used as animal feed, is estimated at 4.54 million tons in 2023-24, increasing by 4% to 4.74 million tons by 2024-25. Corn accounts for about 60% of poultry feed formulation and is an important feed grain for the domestic dairy industry.
“Corn consumption is expected to increase significantly in the coming years as Saudi Arabia aims to become self-sufficient in chicken meat produced in the country,” the FAS said in a statement. “The country is currently 80 percent self-sufficient in chicken meat.”
With little corn produced for human consumption, Saudi Arabia is expected to need to import around 4.5 million tons to meet total demand in 2024-25, down slightly from 4.7 million tons in 2023-24 due to higher ending stocks.
Corn from Latin America continues to dominate the Saudi market as prices are competitive and quality is considered high. In 2023-24, Brazil was Saudi Arabia’s largest corn supplier with a market share of 40%, followed by Argentina with 39% and the US with 18%.
In the absence of domestic production, imports of barley, which is traditionally mixed with alfalfa for livestock feed, are expected to increase to 2.5 million tons in 2024-25. In this case, imports will increase by 30% from 1.92 million tons in the previous year to meet the growing demand from feed processors.
