As the economy moved online, there was a 171% surge in digital businesses and opportunities JEDDAH: The number of electronic or online stores in Saudi Arabia has increased 171 percent compared to last year as consumers embraced e-commerce during the coronavirus pandemic, Minister of Trade Majid Al-Qasabi said on Wednesday. The minister said that the number of supermarkets that provided home delivery services in the Kingdom had increased from just three before the pandemic to 14 afterwards. “During the pandemic, 36,447 e-shops were launched in the past nine months. The crisis has given rise to opportunity to entrepreneurs through delivery, storage units and shipment transportation,” he said. Speaking on Wednesday during a webinar to discuss the themes of the Kingdom’s 2021 budget and the lessons learned during 2020, the minister highlighted the flexibility of Saudi traders in the private sector, and how that helped to keep the supply chain afloat. “The trading system transformed into electronic trade. In response, many traders shifted to supplying through electronic services to keep up with demand,” he said. The Kingdom injected SR218 billion ($58.13 billion) into the private sector to help companies support their employees. In return, the private sector cooperated with governmental entities to make sure services were maintained throughout the supply chain and to keep prices at a reasonable level. One of the minister’s main concerns has been the effect of the pandemic on food reserves and the Kingdom’s reliance on imported produce. The Kingdom imports much of its food sources, with 75 percent of the rice in the country coming from overseas. “If for any reason during the pandemic this country had decided to not meet that supply, whether due to pricing or for safety measures, that created a high-risk situation,” he said. The pandemic helped the ministry pinpoint these flaws and then create preventive measures to counter them, such as bringing in different suppliers or finding replacement sources. The ministry has also set about combating those profiteering from the crisis and increasing prices. Inspectors completed 370,000 field inspections across the Kingdom and penalized more than 5,000 businesses “in order to protect the consumer.”