A Saudi-based organization announced that food wastage in Saudi Arabia is worth more than $10 billion annually.
Saudi Arabia’s Food Ministry announced that the value of food waste in the country has exceeded 40 billion riyals ($10.6 billion) annually, while annual food waste has reached 33.1 percent.
The Kingdom claims to have launched a number of initiatives to conserve and use its natural resources, including a national program to reduce food waste.
Saudi Arabia’s ministry announced in a statement that it has launched a massive awareness campaign that will aim to raise awareness in promoting correct consumption practices and reduce food waste.
According to the report of the ministry, this campaign will start with the World Food Waste Awareness Day.
American network “CNBC” reported that the food waste in Saudi Arabia reaches between 13 billion and 300 million dollars annually.
This figure is higher than the combined GDP of Somalia, Djibouti and Mauritania. The food waste per person is about 250 kg annually.
“Zayed Al Shabnat”, the director of the National Food Waste Program in Saudi Arabia, announced that the amount of food waste in the country exceeds 40 billion riyals based on an annual study.
The Economist has released a report on the 25 countries that waste the most food in the world in 2019. 87% of the world’s food is wasted in these 25 countries. According to this report, Saudi Arabia has the highest amount of food wastage.
Saudi Arabia has traditionally been a mine waste country. The habits and traditions of Saudi society to throw away food are such that it reaches its highest level on various occasions and even on normal days.
Saudis cook a lot of food to show others at parties, much of which is not used. Very often it happens that more than 75% of food is thrown away.
This problem still persists in spite of the awareness campaigns conducted by the NGOs. And food waste is at its peak.
Such a huge amount of food is wasted in this country at a time when there are a large number of very poor families living in different cities of this country who do not have food to eat. Although the government of Saudi Arabia does not release any statistics on poverty in this country, the information available in this regard shows that the poverty rate has increased significantly in recent years.
The Quincy Institute stressed in a report that poverty among Saudi citizens is increasing at a very high rate, but Saudi officials are trying to hide the issue behind the wealth of the ruling family.
On the other hand, the World Bank reports that while having the 1st rank in foreign exchange reserves with $500 billion Saudi Arabia is one of the worst countries in dealing with the poverty crisis.
Saudi Arabia is considered the largest exporter of oil but the country tops the list of countries with high rates of poverty. According to unofficial statistics, 25% of Saudis live below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate in this country is over 13%.
The wrong policies of Saudi Arabia have brought the citizens to the brink of starvation. Many Saudi families are facing starvation because of bin Salman’s short-sighted decision to invade Yemen.
