South African Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development: Saudi Arabia is a strategic market for agriculture

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development of South Africa, Thoko Didiza had held a meeting with the Saudi delegation. It was aimed at strengthening agricultural trade and investment between the two countries, as well as increasing agricultural production to ensure world food security.

Didiza met with the Minister of Environment, Water Resources and Agriculture of of Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley. They were joined by senior government officials, representatives of agricultural organisations and business leaders from both countries.

The delegation also included Saudi industry representatives interested in livestock, sugar and grain production. This is reported by Pretoria News, a partner of TV BRICS.

Didiza emphasised the need to increase domestic production of livestock, sugar and grain.

"This visit follows successful negotiations on the protocol for red meat export which was agreed to last October. The South African livestock industry can now export red meat to Saudi Arabia," Didiza noted.

She emphasised that Saudi Arabia is a strategic market for agriculture as it imports R380 billion (US$20 billion) worth of agricultural products annually.

She noted that Saudi Arabia is an important partner for strengthening trade across all value chains now and in the future.