Saudi Arabia’s corn consumption is estimated to climb 12% to 4.45 million MT during 2018-2019-Foodex Saudi

Saudi Arabia’s corn consumption is estimated to climb 12% to 4.45 million MT during 2018-2019, taking a larger share of the country's feed demand, according to USDA.

Most of that corn volume, or 4.4 million MT, will be imported as domestic production remains small, increasing from 3.95 million MT for the current campaign ending in September 2018.

Corn is predominately used as feed stock in Saudi Arabia which has seen a “continued expansion in animal feed processing facilities and domestic poultry farms,” which led to the increase in “demand for feed corn over the past six years,” the USDA said.

The Saudi government has stopped its domestic feed barley production “to conserve scarce water resources, as the crop is 100% irrigated,” while maintaining domestic barley production for human consumption. About 59% of corn imports come from the US, with Argentina picking up 33%, and Brazil the rest.

Source: Agricensus