Saturday, Feb 12, 2011
BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Rice prices in Saudi Arabia are expected to remain stable in the next 12 months, Saudi-based Al Riyadh daily reports Saturday citing local rice importers.
There are enough rice stocks locally thanks to contracts signed by Saudi traders in exporting countries during the past three months, Mohammed Al Shaalan, a local rice importer, told the paper.
The harvest season in India began in November and some of the shipments under the newly-signed contracts have already arrived in the kingdom, Shaalan said according to the daily.
This comes at a time when local prices of other strategic food products have begun to fall on the local market reversing a trend of rising prices, Al Riyadh reports.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which is the largest Arab economy, heavily relies on the imports of rice and other food products because of its largely dry and barren land.
Newspaper website: http://www.alriyadh.com/2011/02/12/article603809.html
-By Beirut Bureau, Zawya Dow Jones; +961-1-985 757; BeirutZDJ@zawya.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-02-11 0809GMT
