Summary
The Saudis' need to import food is sure to increase. For decades, their government has poured money into farm subsidies, producing some of the world's costliest wheat. As a result, the largely desert country is self-sufficient in wheat, though it has to import rice.
Saudis are thinking of buying rice farms in Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter. Rice prices are climbing especially fast, as several rice-producing countries have restricted exports, fearing domestic shortages. Thailand has even flirted with the idea of an OPEC-style rice cartel.Investors from elsewhere in the Gulf, including Qatar and Abu Dhabi, are scouring the world for undeveloped farmland to buy, especially in Pakistan and Sudan. Libyans and other Arabs have been checking out Ukraine. Kuwaitis have been looking in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.See the full content of this document
Extract
Oil-Rich Nations Shopping for Farmland
The Economist
While Saudi Arabia sets up its first sovereign wealth fund, ordinary Saudis are more preoccupied with the rising pri...See the full content of this document
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