DAMMAM, 7 March 2008 — The shortage of flour in the Kingdom’s markets would end in 10 days, according to a top official of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
“Redoubled efforts by the ministry, jointly with the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flourmills (GOGSF) to curb the flaws in the distribution system that triggered the shortage and consequent disappearance of bread in bakeries, are sure to show results,” Saleh Al-Khaleel, director general for the food supplies administration at the ministry, said on Wednesday.
The new mechanism in place involves the update of the list of grain distributors in the Kingdom so that the ministry could easily identify distributors who tamper with supplies, Al-Khaleel said.
A major problem faced by the ministry is it does not have the full list of those who distribute grains in the Kingdom or the means to communicate with them, Al-Watan daily reported yesterday.
“In order to solve this problem, the ministry has decided to prepare a full list with their details and the ministry will stop the quotas to distributors who do not supply their latest address and other contact details,” Al-Khaleel said. “The same is applicable to bakeries and other establishments involved in flour distribution. The ministry and GOGSF would maintain a file for each distributor in order to find out what they are doing with their quotas and if anyone is resorting to foul play.”
The official said that an action team that investigated the current shortage of flour discovered that a large quantity of the essential commodity was smuggled to neighboring countries where it could be sold at a higher profit. Another major finding of the team was that the flour was used as an animal feed to supplement barley, the price of which has gone up recently.
A special committee has took all measures to stop these practices in the Riyadh Region while such actions are under way in Jeddah and the Southern regions, the director general said.
He added that a meeting would be held next week in Dammam to update the list and details of the distributors in all administrative divisions of the Eastern Province.
Authorities supply grains to the market through a network of private distributors who stock up from GOGSF branches in Riyadh, Dammam, Qassim, Makkah, Asir, Tabuk, Hail, Jouf, Wadi Al-Dawasir and Al-Kharj.
The total bill for bread loaves in the Arab countries is estimated at $9.5 billion at a time when the prices of wheat and grains are on the rise worldwide, according to Saleem Al-Louzi, director general of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development.
Louzi attributed the rise in wheat prices to decreasing production either because of the drying up of water sources or the diversion of farmlands to alternate use in some countries besides the fast growing population.
