In the last week Saudi Arabia was mentioned as one of the nations which are scheduled to join BRICS beginning in the month of January 2024. There’s no doubt that the agriculture of SA will greatly benefit from a close partnership and cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Since the inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the BRICS, SA would now look at three major markets in order to increase exports of agricultural products. It is crucial for a country such as SA to advocate for geographical diversification in trade, especially due to the growing geo-economic conflicts and growing protectionist policies in the traditional markets.

The initial BRICS countries already have a major agricultural market. According to information taken from Trade Map, they collectively import a total of US$320 billion in agricultural goods from the global market by 2022.

Saudi Arabia is a major agricultural importer. For the last five years, the country imports, on an average, $11 billion worth of agricultural goods. The main suppliers of agricultural items for Saudi Arabia are Brazil, India as well as the US and The United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Turkey and Egypt.

Source: heraldlive.co.za