RIYADH — The Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) stated that the crisis in supply chains for onion crops and the rise in their prices in many countries is a global problem and not limited to the Saudi market alone.

It confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday that the Saudi market is not vulnerable to a shortage of onion crops, as the Kingdom’s total consumption reached 702000 tons in 2023, of which local production amounted to about 365000 tons, constituting 52 percent, while the deficit was covered by imports from abroad.

The federation noted that the rise in global onion prices led to disruption of supply chains and a decline in production levels from exporting countries due to the global conditions, which contributed to reducing the Kingdom’s imports of onions from some countries.

The federation affirmed its endeavor, in coordination with the competent authorities, to monitor the adequate supply of onion in the Kingdom, as well as to encourage and stimulate its cultivation, and follow up on contracts with suppliers, in addition to providing other options to import from countries and secure the needs of the local market.

The federation pointed out that among the efforts undertaken by the Food Commodity Abundance Committee on October 1, 2023, in cooperation with the FSC National Agricultural Committee, was to carry out studies on the impact of the decision of one of the exporting countries to ban onion exports for a period of three months. It was recommended at the time that the committee would follow up on the local supply and stock and contracts with the private sector, in cooperation with the competent authorities, and to motivate and encourage local farmers to grow onions by providing operational loans from the Agricultural Development Fund.

During last October, the Saudi authorities urged onion importers and local farmers to take appropriate measures to make available the supply of onion on a permanent basis, and to work to diversify the sources of supply of onions through importing from several countries around the world. In its statement, the federation expected to achieve stability in onion prices and their availability in the Saudi market during the current month of February with the beginning of the harvest of local production to ensure that the market’s need is covered.

It is worthy to note that there has been substantial increase in the local production of onion in the recent past. The self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) of onion during the year 2022 stood at 44 percent, according to a report on agricultural statistics for 2022, released by the General Authority for Statistics.

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