RIYADH — The Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) has announced that it has received at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam the first vessel of wheat weighing 60,000 tons of Australian origin. This amount represents the first batch of imported wheat produced by the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and falls within the contracted amount of 355,000 tons. Governor of SAGO Eng. Ahmad Abdulaziz Al-Fares stated that SALIC’s commitment to deliver the first vessel on schedule reflects the success of allocating 10% of the annual purchases of wheat to Saudi investors abroad. He added that this shipment is the second since the organization imported in 2020 the first shipment of Saudi investments abroad via Jeddah Islamic Port. He also said that in 2021 SAGO will import the 355,000 tons of wheat distributed to six vessels; three to King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, two to Jeddah Islamic Port and one to Jazan Port. Eng. Al-Fares noted that this comes within the framework of the government’s direction towards benefiting from the Saudi agricultural investments abroad to meet the Saudi market’s needs. It also comes within the framework of the Agricultural Investment Program that represents one of the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia’s Food Security Strategy programs, which aims to diversify and stabilize the sources of imported food supplies. — SPA