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Saudi Arabia Registers Stable Supply of Ramadan Goods

Retail outlets offer promotional offers during the month of Ramadan (SPA)
Retail outlets offer promotional offers during the month of Ramadan (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Registers Stable Supply of Ramadan Goods

Retail outlets offer promotional offers during the month of Ramadan (SPA)
Retail outlets offer promotional offers during the month of Ramadan (SPA)

As Islam’s holy month of fasting, Ramadan, begins and global crises like the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the recent Red Sea crisis unfold, the Saudi market stands strong.

The Kingdom has been able to provide Ramadan goods without affecting consumers.

Despite challenges like population growth and tourism, the Kingdom ensures ample food supplies, unlike many global markets affected by these crises.

Recent data from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics shows prices dropping for 70 items and staying steady for 5 out of 169 goods and services.

During a recent tour conducted by Asharq Al-Awsat of retail outlets in the Kingdom, abundant supplies and attractive discounts on food and consumer goods were observed.

Economists credit this stability to Saudi Arabia’s food security strategy, which focuses on increasing local production and reducing waste.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr. Faisal Al Fadel from the Shura Council highlighted the Kingdom’s clear approach to food security, including supporting local production and encouraging private investment in agriculture.

Investor guarantees provided by the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) contribute to self-sufficiency in key commodities, he added.

Fahad Al Ghrusan, CEO of Abdul Rahman Al Abd Al Aziz Al Shalhan Trading Company, noted increased consumption, particularly in rice, driven by population growth and tourism.

Sales typically surge during Ramadan, and annual rice exports reach millions of tons, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Al Ghrusan highlighted the strength of the Saudi market and its support through government programs to ensure food availability, which has significantly reassured the market.

Government initiatives, including financing imports of key agricultural products, strengthen the Saudi market and ensure food availability.

It is worth noting that since its establishment, the ADF has provided over 60 billion riyals ($16 billion), while also financing the import of targeted agricultural products for food security, such as rice, sugar, soybeans, yellow corn, red meat, cooking oils, and barley.

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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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IMF: Middle East Conflict Escalation Could Have Significant Economic Consequences

Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Displaced families, mainly from Syria, gather at Beirut's central Martyrs' Square, where they spent the night fleeing the overnight Israeli strikes in Beirut, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could have significant economic ramifications for the region and the global economy, but commodity prices remain below the highs of the past year.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the Fund is closely monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon with "grave concern" and offered condolences for the loss of life.

"The potential for further escalation of the conflict heightens risks and uncertainty and could have significant economic ramifications for the region and beyond," Kozack said.

According to Reuters, she said it was too early to predict specific impacts on the global economy, but noted that economies in the region have already suffered greatly, especially in Gaza, where the civilian population "faces dire socioeconomic conditions, a humanitarian crisis and insufficient aid deliveries.

The IMF estimates that Gaza's GDP declined 86% in the first half of 2024, Kozack said, while the West Bank's first-half GDP likely declined 25%, with prospects of a further deterioration.

Israel's GDP contracted by about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the conflict began, and the country has seen only a partial recovery in the first half of 2024, she added.
The IMF will update its economic projections for all countries and the global economy later in October when the global lender and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Washington.
"In Lebanon, the recent intensification of the conflict is exacerbating the country's already fragile macroeconomic and social situation," Kozack said, referring to Israel's airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"The conflict has inflicted a heavy human toll on the country, and it has damaged physical infrastructure."
The main channels for the conflict to impact the global economy have been through higher commodity prices, including oil and grains, as well as increased shipping costs, as vessels avoid potential missile attacks by Yemen's Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea, Kozack said. But commodity prices are currently lower than their peaks in the past year.
"I just emphasize once again that we're closely monitoring the situation, and this is a situation of great concern and very high uncertainty," she added.
Lebanon in 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a potential loan program, but there has been insufficient progress on required reforms, Kozack said.
"We are prepared to engage with Lebanon on a possible financing program when the situation is appropriate to do so, but it would necessitate that the actions can be taken and decisive policy measures can be taken," Kozack added. "We are currently supporting Lebanon through capacity development assistance and other areas where possible."