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Biosafety regulatory efforts in the Caribbean remain stalled, and it is yet to be seen whether countries can regain the will and secure the international financing required to fully implement their National Biosafety Frameworks in a harmonized manner.

Saudi regulations allow the importation of biotech plant products, but they are required to be labeled if they contain more than one percent genetically engineered (GE) plant ingredients.

Saudi Arabia is a 20th largest importer of U.S. food and agricultural products in the world, with direct U.S. exports of $1.23 billion in 2020. Return to semi-normal living conditions are invigorating U.S. agricultural exports to the Kingdom as supported by the U.S. Customs data for January – August 2021 that show 16 percent increase compared to the same period in 2020.

Saudi Arabia’s barley imports for the first six months of MY2021/22 (July – Dec. 2021) is estimated at 2.8 million metric tons (MMT), a reduction of 30 percent compared to the same period last year.

Eager to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind it, the Caribbean is doing all it can to attract visitors and kick-start its tourism sector in 2021.

As a result of millions of religious pilgrims, foreign workers, and a developing tourism industry Saudi Arabia has a large and resilient HRI sector.

In 2020, Post estimates poultry production in Saudi Arabia was 900,000 metric tons (MT) with that total jumping to 910,000 MT in 2021 based on official data released by the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) as well as discussions with major poultry producers.

On April 15, 2021, the Saudi government represented by the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) handed back the barley imports and distribution business to the private sector by selling 1.84 million metric tons (MMT) of barley through an open and competitive bidding process to six local grain traders.

Caribbean imports of consumer-oriented products shrunk from $2.3 billion in 2019 to $2.1 billion in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet Caribbean retail grocery sales grew by an estimated 6 percent during the same period.

New measures by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority will have serious repercussions on the Saudi import poultry market.

Post anticipates a significant increase in U.S. high-value food product exports to Saudi Arabia in 2021 due to expansion of the retail sector.

On April 15, 2021, the Saudi government fully implemented its November 2020 decree to privatize the barley import sector.