Browse Data and Analysis

For marketing year (MY) 2025/26, Post estimates that the wheat area harvested will total 193,000 hectares (ha), representing a 1.0 percent decrease from MY 2024/25 due to high input costs and low prices.

Total Saudi wheat imports for 2025/26 are forecast to decline 10 percent to 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), due to projected high local production. Saudi barley imports for MY 2025/26 are projected to increase by 10 percent to 3.3 MMT compared to last MY.

For MY 2024/25, Post estimates that wheat area harvested will total 195,000 hectares (ha), a 2.5 percent decrease from MY 2023/24 to due to high input costs and low prices. Wheat production will reach 1.17 million metric tons (MMT).

With the development of several billion-dollar projects and nearly 30 million visitors a year, the future for U.S. grain exports is bright. Post anticipates Saudi rice imports to increase approximately five percent over the next several years due to expansions in the food service sector.

The General Food Security Authority (GFSA), an agency of the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), purchased approximately 1.2 million metric tons (MMT) of locally produced wheat in MY2022/23.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, Post forecasts wheat area harvested will reach 215,000 hectares (ha) and production will total 1.32 million metric tons (MMT), unchanged from MY 2022/23 as production was limited by the high costs of inputs.

The Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) projects domestic wheat production at 700,000 metric tons (MT) in MY 2021/2022, up approximately 17 percent from USDA’s official estimate of 600,000 MT. Experts anticipate local domestic wheat production could reach 1 million metric tons (MMT) in MY 2022/2023 to offset expected import delays from Russia and Ukraine as a result of the ongoing war.

For marketing year (MY) 2021/22, Post forecasts 230,000 hectares (ha) of wheat planted area totaling 1.4 million metric tons (MMT) of wheat production, which represents a 2.56 percent increase over MY2020/21 due to high price expectations.

Saudi Arabia’s food security strategy is managed by the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO), and sometime in 2021, they will transfer the barley imports and distribution business back to...

Total Saudi corn imports for this marketing year (MY 2019/20) are estimated at 3.3 million MT, a reduction of approximately 18 percent compared to USDA’s official estimate.

For marketing year (MY) 2020/21, Post projects 205,000 hectares of wheat planted area and 1.288 million metric tons (MMT) of wheat production which represents a 2.4 percent decrease over MY2019/20.

Saudi Arabia partially rescinded a virtual ban on domestic wheat production and is projected to produce 500,000 MT in MY 2019/20.