JEDDAH, 27 January 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s rice consumption peaked during this Haj season, according to local traders. Although no figures are readily available, traders said the increase is significant due to the rise in the number of Haj pilgrims this time.
“Since the annual pilgrimage has taken place in the early part of 2005, the year is expected to close with a record annual consumption by the end of the year,” said a spokesman for Al-Muhaidib, one of the rice importing companies.
Although the Kingdom has nearly 200 rice importing companies, only three or four of them figure in the list of top rice importers in terms of volume. Al-Muhaidib together with two other rice importing companies Al-Shaalan and Babakar account for nearly 80 percent of rice imports.
The Kingdom’s annual consumption of rice is around 700,000 tons, which represents some 4.3 percent of the total global consumption during 2003, according to official statistics. The total value of consumption in 2003 reached nearly SR3 billion as compared with SR750 million in 1989.
According to traders, the price of each rice bag of 40 kg ranges between SR125 and 160. The average individual consumption of rice by Saudis is around 43 kg per annum, according to a Ministry of Planning report.
The import of rice from India constitutes 65 percent of the total imports while the percentages of import from other countries are 12 percent from America, 11.3 percent from Pakistan, 8.3 percent from Thailand, 2.4 percent from Australia and two percent from Egypt.
Rice importers said yesterday that the tsunami, which hit the countries of Southeast Asia on Dec. 26, has not affected the import of the grain from countries in the region, including India. “The tsunami hit some coastal parts of southern India and not the country’s major rice producing regions in the western and northern parts. These regions are regarded as the major rice producing areas in the world from where the Kingdom imports rice. Also, the Kandla Port from which most of the rice is exported to various countries has remained safe,” a local consulate official said.
Despite stiff competition among the Kingdom’s rice importers, prices of the grain have been on the increase. This is attributed to the fact that rice production has not kept pace with increasing demand.
Rice exporters in Pakistan are expected to increase their Saudi market share with plans to boost production of parboiled rice. “Parboiling makes the grain of rice harder. This type of rice takes a few minutes longer to cook than regular white rice. It is much popular in the Kingdom and elsewhere in the Gulf,” a rice importer said.
Pakistani rice exporters hope to sell 70,000 tons of rice, mostly the parboiled variety, as a survey by the Pakistan commercial section here shows that 80 percent of the total Saudi rice imports are of parboiled variety.
Pakistan exported $640 million worth of rice during 2003-04 and expects to cross the $700 million figure by the end of fiscal, including $150 million of the parboiled variety.