SAGO receives first SALIC-produced imported wheat shipment

Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) received the first shipment, carrying 60,000 tons of Ukrainian-origin wheat, at Jeddah Islamic Port.

The shipment represents the first imported wheat produced by Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co (SALIC), according to an official statement.

“The arrival of the shipment falls in line with the Kingdom’s strategy to capitalize on the Saudi agricultural investments abroad, and fulfill the local market needs,” SAGO governor Ahmed Al-Faris said.

It is also in-line with the Kingdom’s agricultural investment program abroad, representing one of the multiple food security programs, aimed at diversifying sources of foreign food supplies, he added.

“SAGO is keen on diversifying the wheat procurement sources through the international tenders, in addition to purchasing locally-planted wheat from farmers, given the regulations of green fodder cultivation,” Al-Faris added.

As of the next season, Saudi Arabia has decided to increase the target quantities to 1.5 million tons per annum, in addition to tenders allocated for Saudi investors abroad, which accounted for 10% of annual wheat purchases.

SALIC, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), dispatched its first Ukrainian shipment of wheat, weighing 60,000 tons, to Saudi Arabia on Sept. 5, Argaam reported. The wheat was produced by SALIC-owned Continental Farmers Group.

By the end of 2018, SALIC acquired two Ukrainian agricultural companies and merged them under the name of the Continental Farmers Group. It is now one of the largest agricultural companies in country, managing 195,000 hectares of agricultural land in western Ukraine.