Saudi Arabia Establishes Largest Regional Port for Importing, Processing Grains

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) and SALIC, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, a Public Investment Fund owned company, signed an agreement through video conferencing to lease a land in Yanbu Commercial Port to be used to develop the Kingdom’s largest and first grain terminal.

With a land mass of 313,000 square meters, the terminal will be importing, processing and exporting grains in the Kingdom in two phases, and with a total capacity of 5 million tons annually.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) Eng. Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Mohsen al-Fadhli and Minister of Transport Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, and was signed by Eng. Saad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khalb, President of MAWANI and the CEO of SALIC, Eng. Sulaiman bin Abdul Rahman Al-Rumaih.

Commenting on the signing, Al-Jasser, who is Chairman of Mawani’s Board of Directors, said: “The Yanbu grain project aims to build the first regional center and logistic platform for importing, processing and exporting grains in KSA, taking advantage of the Yanbu commercial port’s exceptional location on the Red Sea coast and the competitive advantage its provides given its proximity to local and regional markets in the Red Sea Basin and the Horn of Africa.”

“This partnership plays a vital role in the ports and logistic services sector, given they are the main enablers of many key industries and sectors, including the food security sector,” he added.

“It also goes in line with MAWANI’s strategic objectives of fully utilizing the huge absorptive capacity in Saudi ports and raising the percentage of private sector investment in the port sector to 90% by 2030. By doing this it will serve the establishment of various development projects that contribute to achieving added value to the national economy, and supporting the investment landscape and commercial traffic in the Kingdom.”

“This regional project will support the operational traffic in the Yanbu Commercial Port, attract additional international shipping lines, and increase investment in the logistic services sector which will bring about significant growth in operational traffic and the increase in the number of ships that lead the port,” Al-Jasser concluded.

One of SALIC’s key strategic objectives is to significantly contribute to the import of basic commodities that are in line with the food security strategy in the Kingdom. Furthermore, the company aims to invest in supply chains and ports in Saudi and countries where SALIC holds investments to ensure the sustainability of the supply of all basic commodities.

For its part, one of MAWANI’s strategic objectives is to partner with public and private sector organizations to support the Kingdom's ports in becoming the leading regional and international ports and providing an efficient, high capacity, integrated port network.

This will significantly support the Kingdom's economic growth plans, stimulate the logistics services industry and global supply chains, and position Saudi Arabia as a global logistical hub and link to the three continents, in line with Vision 2030.

Japan's government warned of uncertainty over the impact of US trade policies as tariffs could hurt the global economy but it also said in a monthly report on Friday that the domestic economy was recovering moderately thanks to a solid corporate sector.

Tokyo also said the downside risks to its economic outlook were growing due to US President Donald Trump's tariffs and it warned of the impact of market volatility.

President Trump touted "big progress" in tariff talks with Japan on Wednesday, although it was only the one of the first rounds of face-to-face talks since he announced a barrage of duties on global imports, rocking markets and stoking recession fears. The two nations plan to hold a second meeting later this month.

"The economy is recovering moderately, while uncertainty is arising from US trade policies," Japan's Cabinet Office said in its monthly report for April, issued on Friday.

The government expects the economy to continue recovering but higher US tariffs could impact Japan via trade and market turmoil, it said.

"It is necessary to be more vigilant than before about the impact on the domestic and international economies," an official at the Cabinet Office said.

While consumer sentiment was weakening due to higher inflation - notably for daily necessities such as food, private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the economy, showed signs of picking up, the report said.

The government cut its view of corporate sentiment for the first time since March 2022, saying it was "almost flat" after a Bank of Japan survey showed big manufacturers' business sentiment worsened to a one-year low in the three months to March.

Saudi Arabia Establishes Largest Regional Port for Importing, Processing Grains