Buraydah: The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has launched a campaign to raise awareness among the country’s residents to include fruits produced in the country in their diet. Ministry spokesperson Salih bin Dakheel revealed that the campaign is titled ‘Ja’a Wakhtaha’ (This is the time). He said that the campaign is organized to stimulate the country’s agriculture sector and also to promote the consumption of nutritious fruits. He added that due to this, the market potential of various fruits grown in different seasons will also increase. The country follows a marketing approach that prioritizes food safety and quality.
Last year, Saudi Arabia ranked first according to the World Food Quality Index. In an interview granted to the local media, he pointed out that Saudi Arabia ranks eighth among 113 countries that have maintained food availability smoothly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bin Dakheel said that the ministry is working in accordance with the directives of ‘Vision 2030’, which aims to improve the quality of life, give importance to health care and maximize the use of natural resources with abundant renewable potential in the country.
As part of the vision, the Ministry is implementing a National Agricultural Policy aimed at raising the level of self-sufficiency and availability of domestic commodities and staple crops in local markets. Due to this, the level of local fruit production, excluding dates, which is a traditional product, increased to 900 tonnes last year. He hoped that the campaign would also help promote the marketing of local agricultural produce.
A variety of fruits produced in Saudi Arabia are exported after domestic consumption. Domestic production of fruits including dates is about 25 lakh tonnes. Fig production accounts for 107 percent of the domestic consumption, followed by watermelon 99 percent, grapes 60 percent, pomegranate 34 percent and orange 15 percent.