Cheetah786
PDF VETERAN
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 9,002
- Reaction score
- -3
- Country
- Location
I love Pakistani Urdu Media They create News out of Thin Air and sit back and watch it turn into a full grown Fire.Most members here are fully aware that this isn't any thing more then a brain fart but hey what ever makes you happy.
Last checked Saudis wanted to buy land nothing to do with free oil for lease but leave it to Paudies they will take negative Arab move against Pakistan and Make it look like once in a life time golden opportunity.
Last checked Saudis wanted to buy land nothing to do with free oil for lease but leave it to Paudies they will take negative Arab move against Pakistan and Make it look like once in a life time golden opportunity.
After the first oil-price run-up of 1973-74, the Saudi rulers decided that they needed to protect themselves against a reverse boycott by the farming superpowers, and so they poured immense resources into a wheat self-sufficiency program. When it began, the government offered farmers an exorbitant SR3,500 (US$933) per ton, many times higher than the market price. That amount was then reduced to a still-princely SR1,000 ($267) per ton.
Over the three decades, the program massively depleted both the government's finances and water resources without ever being in any way necessary, for the farming powers never had any intention of blockading the kingdom. Also, the smuggling of wheat into Saudia became a big business (especially from nearby Egypt, where the government makes wheat available at lower-than-market prices.)
The changes will take place gradually. At this time, Saudi farmers turn out 2.5 million tons a year of durum and soft wheat, which suffices to meet domestic demand. Agriculture and finance ministries announced that government purchases of locally-produced wheat will go down by 12.5 percent annually each year for eight years, until it weans itself off the high-priced local produce in 2016. (January 9, 2008)
July 21, 2008 update: Ironically, just as the Saudis gave up on their wheat program, the jump in food prices is prompting neighboring countries to grow their own crops, Andrew Martin writes in "Mideast Facing Choice between Crops and Water":