Ethanol Blog

Saudi Arabia Demand for Grains, DDGS Expected to Grow

Cheryl Anderson
By  Cheryl Anderson , DTN Staff Reporter

Saudi Arabia's demand for imports of feed ingredients such as coarse grains and dried distillers grains with solubles is projected to grow, according to a story by Cary Sifferath, regional director for Middle East and Africa for the U.S. Grains Council, on the council's website (http://bit.ly/…).

Despite the recent death of Saudi King Abdullah, the country's government is relatively stable while surrounded by upheaval and violence in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Libya. While a plan has been announced for Abdullah's brother Salman to succeed, the ruling family appears to be committed to maintaining the country's economy, including a growing demand for coarse grains to support its somewhat affluent citizens' increasingly diversified diets that include more meat, milk and eggs. The country's also striving to reduce overall water usage, which will also increase demand for imported corn, DDGS and corn gluten feed.

P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]

In 2014, Saudi Arabia imported 2.2 million metric tons of corn, including 37.4 million tons from the U.S. and about 9,000 tons of DDGS. With two new feed mills expected to open in the first half of 2015, the country is projected to increase its corn imports from 1-1.2 million tons (40-47 million bushels) per year to 2-3 million tons (78-118 million bushels) of corn per year.

A reported 475,000 tons (18.7 million bushels) of U.S. corn have already been purchased by two large Saudi importers for Jan.-July shipments. Approximately 15,000 tons of DDGS is also scheduled to be shipped before the end of March.

Another boost for increasing imports is Saudi Arabia's subsidy systems that help protect industries and consumers from true market costs of many basic needs and results in U.S. coarse grains being even more well-prized than on the world market. , In order to help ensure the country's future stability, the new king is not expected to change these subsidies.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com

(ES)

P[] D[728x170] M[320x75] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
P[L2] D[728x90] M[320x50] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]

Comments

To comment, please Log In or Join our Community .