JEDDAH, 8 February — Studies of the privatization of the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flour Mills are to be completed shortly, according to a top official of the organization.
The studies, which will be submitted to the higher bodies for final approval, have also examined the economic and social implications of the privatization, said Saleh Al-Soleiman, director general of GOGSFM.
In his press briefing, Al-Soleiman said that farmers can cultivate wheat only with the permission of the GOGSFM. The organization fixes the quota to each farmer every year. There are a large number of local farmers who want to resume wheat cultivation this year. The number of the farmers who expressed their willingness to cultivate wheat grew by 33 percent to reach 22,000 last year, up from 17,000 farmers last year.
The credit facility for wheat projects was stopped 12 years ago as the production of grain had achieved set targets. The organization maintains a policy which keeps a balance between domestic demand and production in order to avoid market flooding, Al-Soleiman explained.
"The farmers need not cultivate wheat in all the land under their possession. They need only farm according to the quota allotted to them by the authorities," the director general said.
The current studies will also determine the policy of wheat production to be implemented after privatization.
