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Saudi Arabia Boosts its Food Security

Saudi Arabia enhances its food security by attracting the largest global meat company (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia enhances its food security by attracting the largest global meat company (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Boosts its Food Security

Saudi Arabia enhances its food security by attracting the largest global meat company (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia enhances its food security by attracting the largest global meat company (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia is boosting its food security by allocating industrial land of ​​more than 25,000 square meters in the second industrial city in Jeddah to the largest international meat company.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) signed a privatization contract with Seara Arabian for Food Industries, the investment arm in the Middle East and North Africa region of the Brazilian JBS group.

JBS is a global leader in protein-based food production and contributes to boosting the export of national products and meeting the local market's needs for various meat products, with a total of 50,000 tons annually.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Osama al-Zamil announced that MODON is ready and capable of attracting and localizing quality industries with added value to the national economy.

Zamil explained that it will help achieve the objectives of the national strategy for industries under Vision 2030.

He added that the project would support the integration of food industry supply chains by facilitating and attracting investors to the targeted areas.

It will also provide support and joint logistical services that boost the efficiency of food factories within these clusters and enhance their contribution to the national export system.

Zamil said that MODON has succeeded since its inception in increasing the number of food and beverage factories in its industrial cities by 200 percent, from 318 to nearly 1,000 factories.

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US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
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US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

US job growth accelerated in September and the unemployment slipped to 4.1%, further reducing the need for the Federal Reserve to maintain large interest rate cuts at its remaining two meetings this year.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 159,000 in August, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 140,000 positions after advancing by a previously reported 142,000 in August.
The initial payrolls count for August has typically been revised higher over the past decade. Estimates for September's job gains ranged from 70,000 to 220,000.
The US labor market slowdown is being driven by tepid hiring against the backdrop of increased labor supply stemming mostly from a rise in immigration. Layoffs have remained low, which is underpinning the economy through solid consumer spending.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% after gaining 0.5% in August. Wages increased 4% year-on-year after climbing 3.9% in August.
The US unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in August. It has jumped from 3.4% in April 2023, in part boosted by the 16-24 age cohort and rise in temporary layoffs during the annual automobile plant shutdowns in July.
The US Federal Reserve's policy setting committee kicked off its policy easing cycle with an unusually large half-percentage-point rate cut last month and Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized growing concerns over the health of the labor market.
While the labor market has taken a step back, annual benchmark revisions to national accounts data last week showed the economy in a much better shape than previously estimated, with upgrades to growth, income, savings and corporate profits.
This improved economic backdrop was acknowledged by Powell this week when he pushed back against investors' expectations for another half-percentage-point rate cut in November, saying “this is not a committee that feels like it is in a hurry to cut rates quickly.”
The Fed hiked rates by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023, and delivered its first rate cut since 2020 last month. Its policy rate is currently set in the 4.75%-5.00% band.
Early on Friday, financial markets saw a roughly 71.5% chance of a quarter-point rate reduction in November, CME's FedWatch tool showed. The odds of a 50 basis points cut were around 28.5%.