Specialists in the agricultural and livestock sector confirmed that Saudi Arabia imported 15.4 billion riyals worth of raw materials for feed, indicating that the Kingdom's consumption of feed reached 12.5 million tons during 2013-2014, including compound, green and seasonal pastures. This came during the opening of Dr. Fahad Balghunaim, Saudi Minister of Agriculture, yesterday in Riyadh, the activities of the 33rd Saudi Agricultural Exhibition, in the presence of Engineer Waleed bin Abdul Karim Al Khuraiji, Director General of the General Corporation for Grain Silos and Flour Mills, and Asil Khan Mabitikov, Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan. Engineer Abdullah bin Salem bin Noah, CEO of the Pentagonal Company for Feed and Animal Production, explained that the volume of liquidity in the local feed market, limited to the value of imported raw materials, amounted in 2014 to more than 15.4 billion Saudi riyals. Ibn Nuh, who was speaking on the sidelines of the Saudi Agricultural Exhibition, pointed out that the Kingdom's total consumption of feed reached 12.5 million tons in 2013-2014, including compound and green feeds, in addition to seasonal pastures estimated according to the number of livestock, indicating that the volume of feed production in the Kingdom reached more than 10 million tons, including these quantities of manufactured and traditional feeds. He pointed out that the quantities of barley during the current year 2014 decreased from last year, as only 3 million tons were imported, attributing the reason to the quantities stored from the previous year, adding, «Also, the quantities of imported corn increased from 2012-2013 due to the decrease in prices and reached more than 2 million tons.» «On the external level, the prices of international raw materials such as grains and others control the rates of increase or decrease in prices, while internally, government policies such as subsidies and others have the most prominent impact, in addition to the quantities of imported barley, which is mainly used as a traditional feed, so whenever the stock of barley decreases, the breeder turns to compound feeds as an alternative, which reflects on prices in terms of supply and demand,» Abdullah said. The CEO described the Saudi Agricultural Exhibition as a good opportunity for companies working in the field of agriculture and animal production to present all the new technology in production and manufacturing and a meeting place for national and international expertise. He stressed that the state pays great attention to this sector, especially the production of compound feeds, and has harnessed the human and material capabilities to support companies working in this field in order to provide production inputs at appropriate prices and high quality for breeders. «This year is special for the pentagonal company, as we are participating in the activities of the 33rd session, and we achieved distinguished successes during the previous period, which was represented in the presentation of our products of compound feed and chicks that maintained high levels of quality,» he added. Al-Maarek pointed out that the agricultural exhibition is of great importance in presenting agricultural investment opportunities in Kazakhstan due to the comparative advantage in Kazakhstan in terms of the quality of agricultural soil, moderate weather, abundant water, and the suitability of the soil for the cultivation of field crops such as wheat, barley, beets and oil flowers such as sunflowers and others. Engineer Walid bin Abdul Karim Al Khuraiji, Director General of the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flour Mills, pointed out that this exhibition comes in support of the agricultural sector in order to contribute and continue to develop the agricultural and livestock industries in the Kingdom. «The exhibition has gained international importance as it witnesses a wide representation from inside and outside the Kingdom through the participation of major international companies from more than 40 countries, reviewing all agricultural services and technologies that have a role in the development of the agricultural sector in the Kingdom, as well as a wide range of agricultural, food and packaging products that correspond to all needs, including agricultural construction, animal production, agricultural financing services, agricultural equipment and machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, greenhouses, irrigation systems, organic farming and others,» he added. It is worth mentioning that the Foundation is participating with a pavilion in the exhibition for the sixth consecutive year to highlight the role of the Foundation and its products to the guests of the exhibition and distinguished visitors.