Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadhly said that abundant supply of essential food items will be made available during the upcoming Hajj season. The minister, who is also chairman of the Food Security Committee, said this while chairing the periodic meeting of the Committee for Basic Food Commodities in Riyadh on Sunday.

The meeting reviewed the latest developments with regard to ensuring the abundant supply of food commodities locally, as well as the sizes of stocks, the functioning of local and external supply chains, and the measures taken to ensure the continuity of abundance of food supply during the Hajj season.

Addressing the meeting, Al-Fadhly stated that all the concerned authorities in the food security system are working continuously to follow up on the implementation of the directives of the wise leadership to ensure abundant supply as well as to strengthen local stocks of basic food commodities and support their continuous stocks in the local markets. “There has been coordination and joint efforts of the concerned authorities, including the private sector, in preparation for the next Hajj season,” he said while noting that the upcoming Hajj season will witness an increase in the number of pilgrims compared to the last three years that were impacted by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister appreciated the efforts of the authorities concerned with the food security system and the role of the private sector in maintaining the stability and abundance of the food supply of all commodities in the local market.

The meeting was attended by members of the committee, who include representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, the Foreign Trade Authority, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the General Authority for Food Security, the Agricultural Development Fund, and the Saudi Agricultural Investment and Livestock Production Company (SALIC).