Saudi Plans to Import Wheat to Save Water

Nadim Kawach (Emirates Business 24|7)

April 9, 2008

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

Saudi Arabia’s plan to start importing wheat and end a massive grain self-sufficiency program it launched more than two decades ago will weaken the Kingdom’s food security and aggravate a painful Arab farm gap.

The Gulf Kingdom, the world’s richest in oil resources and one of the poorest in terms of water, said [last] week it would begin importing wheat at the start of 2009 and gradually eliminate a 25-year grain program that has allowed it to be self sufficient but drained its scarce desert water wealth.

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