Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Country Book

Last update: October 3, 2025

This page contains information about some of the data available in the FEWS NET Data Explorer (FDE) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (this page also uses the Kingdom and Saudi Arabia). This is not a comprehensive guide.

For information about using the filters and fields for specific domains in the FDE, see Choose a Data Domain .

Summary table

Acknowledgements

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia crop dataset found in the FEWS NET Data Warehouse, and this Country Data Book publication are a joint effort of the United States Government-funded  Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) , the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Durham University, and the Joint Research Centers (JRC) of the European Union-managed HarvestStat Middle East/North Africa (MENA). HarvestStat MENA provides datasets of subnational crop data for 10 countries across the Middle East and North Africa in formats that are interoperable with the FEWS Data Warehouse and ready for academic analysis. For additional information, please refer to the HarvestStat vision paper, the HarvestStat website , and the FEWS Data Explorer Knowledge Base .

Country food security context

Statistical reporting units

Saudi Arabia usually uses administrative units as their statistical reporting units.

Admin 1: Province, Region or Administrative Regions (المناطق الادارية), of which there are currently 13. 

Admin 2: Governorate (مناطق), or Muhafazat, of which there are 150. 

Admin 3: Center (مراكز), or Maraqiz. Governorates are further divided into approximately 1,377 administrative units called centers, also known as sub-governorates. These centers handle local service delivery and coordinate with provincial authorities

Evolution of Administrative and Crop Statistic Reporting Units

Before 1993, the Kingdom was divided at the Admin 1-level into Regions or “principal Amarates {Emirates} in the Kingdom” (الامارات الرئيسية بالمملكة).

The current administrative system using Provinces was established in 1992 under a royal order by King Fahd, which formalized the number of provinces at 13, and created 118 governorates. This system aimed to decentralize governance and improve administrative efficiency by giving local authorities more oversight and responsibility. In 2012, under the rule of King Abdullah, the number of governorates was increased to 136 to reflect the country’s demographic and geographic developments.

Crop data

Explore our crop data .

View our documentation on using the Crop Domain .

Saudi Arabia has transformed large areas of desert into agricultural fields and achieved impressive production levels in various commodities. Key areas of production include: 

• Dates: The country is the world's second-largest producer of dates and uses a substantial portion for international aid efforts.

• Vegetables: High production volumes have been achieved for crops such as watermelon, potatoes, tomatoes, and cucumbers through a combination of exposed and protected cultivation.

• Forage crops: Alfalfa and Rhodes grass are extensively grown as staples for the country's livestock.

• Fruits: Production of citrus fruits, grapes, and tropical fruits like pineapples, mangoes, and guavas has been successfully established in more temperate regions.

Major grain crops include wheat, barley, and sorghum. In 2008, as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faced a water crisis due to an unsustainable depletion of its non-renewable fossil water aquifers, it decided to phase out its irrigated crop production, with a complete ban on wheat farming projected to take effect in 2016. This policy change came after a long period between the 1970s and 2007 when Saudi Arabia heavily subsidized irrigated farming, with the aim of achieving food self-sufficiency in a severely arid environment.  

By 2016, subsidies for water-intensive crops were completely removed, and the country became entirely reliant on imported wheat. In 2018, the ban was expanded to include water-intensive forage crops, such as alfalfa, which had also been straining the country's water supply. 

This policy has since seen adjustments in response to global events.  Wheat production resumed in 2018/2019, with the Saudi Government allowing¹ individual small-holder farmers to plant up to 50 hectares, and setting a maximum national production limit of 700,000 MT (increased to 1.5 MMT per year until 2022/2023). Furthermore, the government plans to completely phase out alfalfa production by the 2027/28 season and is encouraging farmers to shift from alfalfa to wheat cultivation. 

Water scarcity is the most critical agricultural challenge. The country has no permanent rivers or lakes and relies heavily on non-renewable groundwater from deep aquifers, which are being rapidly depleted. Irrigation systems are often inefficient, with a 50% efficiency rate compared to a global best practice of 85%. With rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall, heat stress and water demand on crops are expected to increase, potentially decreasing crop yields by 7% to 25% for every one-degree Celsius increase in temperature. 

Saudi Arabia now imports about 80% of its food. Global supply chain disruptions can therefore pose a significant threat to food security.

Crop estimate data sources

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) is a government entity with an independent legal personality. It is the only official statistical reference for implementing, supervising, and regulating statistical work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It provides statistical products in social, economic, and environmental fields to support policymakers and decision-makers in advancing the implementation of development plans.

Over the years, the Ministry of Agriculture and GASTAT have delivered crop statistics in a series of different publications, ranging from Annual Statistical Yearbooks to more recent Annual Crop Survey reports. They are generally found under the Spatial Statistics and Resources category of GASTAT and often scheduled for release in September. 

Note that these annual publications and the tables they contain are variously labeled with one, or more of the following year identifiers:

• A Saudi official calendar date, using the Um al Qura² calendar (تقويم أم القرى). The Um al Qura calendar modifies a traditional Islamic lunar calendar (hijiri, التقويم الهجري) with astronomical calculations to determine new months rather than the physical sighting of the lunar crescents.  The Islamic lunar calendar consists of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days, and is often annotated “a.h./AH.”

• A Gregorian calendar date, sometimes annotated “a.d./AD/CE.”

• A yearbook edition number (starting with edition number 1 in 1965/1966 AD).  

The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle with lunar months of either 29 days or 30 days and, on average, 354 days in the year. It generally differs by 622 years from a Gregorian date. The Umm al Qura calendar year is on average 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year, so over time, lunar months and years move in and out of sync with the Gregorian calendar.

These complexities become most acute when viewing older Annual Statistical Yearbooks which often contain three or four years of crop data. The most recent year is a provisional estimate and given sometimes in lunar year dates and sometimes in Gregorian formats. Additionally, some previous year data may be revised for other reasons. 

Crop reporting units

Crop statistics from the Kingdom are reported using the Admin 1-level Province administrative boundaries previously described. 

Year and season definition

Year definitions 

Since a 2023 Saudi cabinet decision, the Gregorian calendar is the official standard for all government-related transactions and procedures. This change was made to facilitate international business and align with global practices.

For the purposes of agricultural surveys, a comprehensive inventory of plant production for the year starts on March 1st and ends on February 28th of the following year. 

Seasons

Saudi Arabia primarily follows a two-season cropping cycle:

• Winter: approximately November to March/April for crops like wheat, onions, and garlic

• Summer: March/April to August/September for crops such as watermelon, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

These seasons allow for the cultivation of a wide range of crops, including cereals, fruits, and vegetables, adapted to the country's arid climate. 

Crop calendar

The Foreign Agricultural Service of the USDA provides crop calendars for major cropping seasons globally. Here we provide graphics showing the major cropping seasons in Saudi Arabia and selected crops.

Primary crops

Wheat

The nationally important wheat crop is planted at the end of November to the second week of January. The harvest is delivered to the General Food Security Authority (GFSA) from April to October. GFSA purchases all locally produced wheat at a set competitive price adjusted annually.

When partial local wheat production resumed in 2018/2019, the Saudi Government set a maximum production limit of 700,000 MT. In the 2020/21 crop year, GFSA increased the maximum local wheat production cap to 1.5 MMT per year until 2022/2023. However, it has been difficult for GFSA to convince local farmers³ to produce wheat at the maximum set production level since alfalfa is more profitable than wheat. Alfalfa produces for up to three years and yields between 6 – 9 cuts a year depending on planting region and weather conditions. As a result, farmers typically make more money producing alfalfa than wheat. 

Traditionally, Saudi Arabia grows a hard-winter wheat variety known as Yecoro Rojo, which was developed by the International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center in cooperation with the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture in Mexico. GFSA prefers Saudi wheat to imported wheat due to its hard kernel and lower moisture content, which allows for extended storage times.

Crops present in Saudi crop statistics

Production systems

Two different sets of crop statistics for vegetables, particularly tomatoes and cucumbers, are often provided:

• Protected crops: The cultivation of crops in greenhouses, areas covered in glass, plastic, or another material to protect them from weather conditions, such as light, temperatures, air, and relative humidity. This creates a favorable environment for different kinds of plants to grow throughout the year. 

• Not protected crops (grown in the open with no protection): These are agricultural crops, cultivated with no barrier between them and various weather conditions. 

Crop statistics context

Area and Weight Units

• Area planted and area harvested estimates are often given in donums which are equivalent in Saudi Arabia to one-tenth of a hectare, or 1,000 sq. meters. In more recent crop data, area estimates are described in units of 1,000 sq. meters. 

• Production estimates are almost always given in metric tons. 

Multiple-crop harvested area estimates

In the case of sequential cropping on the same land within the same year, the area is recorded as many times as it is cultivated to yield the total harvested area.

Methodology

Data is annually collected by the Department of Economic Studies and Statistics in the Ministry of Agriculture and Water (MAW) by two methods, based on the type of holding (farm). A holding is defined as an area of land wholly or partly utilized for the production of crops, livestock or both, but it does not include public parks or household gardens.

Traditional holdings

A sample survey method is used to collect statistical data about traditional holdings.

Data for these farms was collected by using a special questionnaire and interviewing the farmers without requiring any formal records.

According to the Agricultural Census of 1999 A.D there are 242,267 agricultural holdings located within 11,175 villages. This is used as a basic frame for agricultural sampling by the 25 Directorates for Agriculture, under which 120 agricultural branch offices are working all over the Kingdom.

In the first stage, multiple stratified sampling was used to obtain independent samples from villages in accordance with their size in each branch. Size was defined as cultivated land in the holdings of each village. Each region was considered an independent stratum in the population of the Kingdom.

In the second stage, samples were randomly selected, without replacement, from the agricultural groups in the selected villages. The sample of 2009 included approximately 10% of the total villages of the Kingdom (representing about 5% of the total number of holdings in the Kingdom). 

Specialized farms

A complete enumeration method is used for collecting statistical data about specialized holdings. These are projects of individuals or agricultural companies for which technical and economic feasibility studies have been prepared and which were mostly licensed by the MAW. The aims of these projects are only commercial. Most of these projects are financed by the Saudi Arabia Agricultural Bank.

The department prepared a comprehensive frame for the projects for which records are available either at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Directorates and sub-directorates located in different regions, or the Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank and its branches. Thus the frame includes all the specialized holdings in the Kingdom with their addresses and purpose of production.

Statistical data were collected by using a complete enumeration of all the agricultural projects enlisted in the frame. This was done through specially designed questionnaires using project records to conduct personal interviews with the project's owners.

1 The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) licenses local wheat production and the General Food Security Authority (GFSA), which replaced the former Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) in January 2023, is the exclusive buyer of licensed production.

2  Also followed by several neighbouring states on the Arabian Peninsula such as Bahrain and Qatar

3  Smallscale farmers are licensed by the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Agriculture to grow wheat on up to 50 hectares of their land. All wheat produced must be sold to the General Food Security Authority