Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that is unable to produce many agricultural and horticultural products, including dried apricot, due to weather conditions, so it is forced to import these products at a higher price. As the world's second largest exporter of oil, the desert nation of Saudi Arabia, which is home to more than 27 million people and holds 25 percent of the world's oil reserves, is widely regarded as one of the most influential economic powers in the area. The export of oil is the primary driver of Saudi Arabia's economy, accounting for 45 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Over the course of the last few decades, the political leaders of this nation have placed a primary emphasis on the expansion and diversification of economic initiatives, with the backing of massive oil revenues. In this regard, the development of the agricultural sector is considered to be one of the most important priorities in the economic reform programme in terms of its vital importance in meeting the ever-increasing needs of food, employment, increasing rural income, and reducing the process of excessive urbanisation. In this regard, the development of the agricultural sector is considered to be one of the most important priorities in the economic reform programme in terms of its vital importance in meeting the ever-increasing needs of Because the vast bulk of Saudi Arabia's agricultural activities are concentrated in rural areas, the expansion and prosperity of the agricultural industry will also bring about development in rural areas. 
Without a shadow of a doubt, the extreme scarcity of water is the primary obstacle facing the agriculture industry in Saudi Arabia. On the basis of this, our nation has devised a plan to develop irrigation networks, with the assistance of the most advanced technology in the world, and with the cooperation of capital owners, in order to enhance agricultural conditions and increase production targets. In recent years, within the framework of the development of the Saudi irrigation system, very effective steps have been taken in the field of increasing agricultural productivity. Furthermore, according to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, "FAO," the area under cultivation has increased from 160 thousand hectares in the late 80s to the current figure of 320 thousand hectares. This represents a significant increase in the amount of land that is being used for agricultural purposes. The past ten years have seen the cultivation of more than three million hectares of land, and thanks to the drilling of wells that reach depths ranging from several hundreds to three thousand metres, a sizeable portion of the country's arid regions have been converted into verdant and fertile lands. This has contributed to the growth and success of the agricultural and food processing industries. It goes without saying that the agricultural sector accounts for 3. 3% of the country's GDP, and that agricultural operations are performed by 12% of the country's labour force. On the other hand, the development of agricultural mechanisation is one of Saudi Arabia's desired solutions for structural transformation. This solution has been accomplished with the active presence of the private sector and the firm support of the government, and the necessary platform for increasing the quantity as well as the quality of production has been provided. 
It is abundantly clear that the production and export of wheat is at the top of Saudi Arabia's agricultural development programme, and investors' enthusiasm over the profitability of this endeavour has never wavered. The remarkable successes made by Saudi Arabia in improving wheat output despite the harsh environmental conditions that prevail in that country are on the cutting edge of agricultural innovation. The amount of wheat produced in Saudi Arabia was approximately 3,000 tonnes at the beginning of the 1980s, but after two decades, it increased to 3. 8 million tonnes, which is an unprecedented record. After that, however, it decreased again due to the government's attention being focused on cultivating other crops. As a result of the Saudi government's decision to maintain its support policies, the growth rate of production for a wide variety of agricultural goods, including as wheat, barley, summer crops, vegetables, and dairy products, is positive. At the moment, it is believed that this country's typical output of grain is 2. 4 million tonnes, while its production of meat is 630 thousand tonnes, and its production of fruits and vegetables is 2. 3 million tonnes. The value of agricultural imports totals 1. 5 billion dollars, whereas the value of agricultural exports is only 529 million dollars. With these words, it is anticipated that the agricultural sector of Saudi Arabia will regain its valuable share in the country's economic outlook in light of oil capital being in a continuous challenge with the existing bottlenecks. This is in contrast to the situation in which the bottlenecks have been present for quite some time. 
dried apricot saudi arabia
As it was said, Saudi Arabia is more of a consumer country than a producer in the field of agriculture and horticulture, especially dried apricots. But this country is at the top in the production and export of dates. According to the value of exported dates in 2021, Saudi Arabia was the most successful date exporting country. According to data compiled by the International Trade Center (ITC) in 2021, Saudi Arabia shipped dates (fresh and dried) to other nations with a total value of almost 323 million dollars. In comparison to the other 24 nations that export dates, Saudi Arabia has made the most money from them. This amount is equal to more than 15% of the whole global trade of dates, which was around $2 billion last year. In 2021, Israel exported more than $317 million worth of dates, making it the world's second-largest exporter of dates. According to data compiled by the "International Trade Center," the value of date exports from Saudi Arabia and Israel in 2021 rose by 31% and 26%, respectively, over the previous year. In terms of the value of their exports of dates in 2021, the nations of Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Iran, the United States, and Iraq have been rated third through eighth, respectively. In total, these eight countries have brought in over $200 billion from date exports, or roughly 75% of the world total. Dates are the sixth and eighth most valuable export for Iran and Iraq, respectively. One oddity in these numbers is that although Iran and Iraq rank sixth and eighth in the world, respectively, in terms of date export revenue, the amount of dates exported from these two nations is greater than that of the other countries in terms of weight. 
region(s) has been. In 2021, the world's largest exporters of dates were Iraq and Iran, with over 245,000 and 227,000 tonnes, respectively; Saudi Arabia placed third with over 224,000 tonnes. By comparing these numbers, we can see that Saudi Arabia has made around three times as much as Iran and Iraq combined from exporting dates, despite the fact that its export date weight is slightly lower than theirs. Using a rough estimate, we can deduce that a kilo of dates sold in Saudi Arabia brought in roughly $1. 5 per unit, while a kilo of dates shipped from Iran or Iraq brought in only $0. 56 or $0. 42 per unit. Is there a reason why Iran only receives a third of Saudi Arabia's date export revenue? Given Iran's extensive palm groves, which are spread across the provinces of Khuzestan, Kerman, Hormozgan, Fars, Sistan-Baluchistan, and Bushehr in the country's south and southeast, Iran's position in terms of cultivated area and production of dates in the past years has fluctuated between second and third place; however, in recent years, factors such as drought, water salinity in some areas of Khuzestan and other prov. In addition, there were reports last year of palm trees being illegally cut down in places like Bushehr and smuggled to Arab countries in the Persian Gulf. Some local farmers have announced that they will cut down their palm trees and sell them for 1. 
5 million tomans because of the severe water shortage in the region. US sanctions have made it difficult for international money transfers to Iran, leading in certain cases to "two-stage exports," which has been an issue for several exporters in recent years. Iran's dates, for example, may be shipped to a country with which it has favourable trade connections, where they will be sold at a reduced price, and then resold (often in repackaged form) to a third country. The utter disregard for hygienic standards during the manufacturing and packing stages is a further issue in some circumstances. Some have also pointed to bad marketing as a problem, specifically the failure to adapt the product's branding (the placement and introduction of the brand name) and packaging to the preferences of consumers in the export destination countries. Each of these elements influences the retail price of products in international markets. One of the date exporters mentioned a few years ago that before "these cartons and style of packaging," we had been using for dates for more than 30 years, and that this was after the Iranian exporters had moved from traditional packing in mats to 10-15 kilogramme cartons and subsequently to smaller packages. As many countries throughout the world, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, and many others that export dates do, he underlined the need to go to smaller packaging, even granular packaging. Yet, the head of the Iran Date Association, Mohsen Rashid Farrokhi, warned in 2019 that "Iran's two southern neighbours, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are expanding their palm plantations, which can turn them into serious competitors in the international market and share put pressure on Iran's dates. " As the production rate of other nations has increased, and as Iran's production has decreased due to the aforementioned factors, as well as disregarding concerns like marketing and packaging, Iran's income from this precious agricultural commodity has decreased. Helping the international palm and date market is a priority for Saudi Arabia. 
The recent ranking of this country as one of the top date exporting countries in 2021 has been hailed by the Saudi Arabian National Center for Palms and Dates as evidence of "the attention of the leadership of Saudi Arabia to increase non-oil exports, as well as the development of agricultural methods and the improvement of palm cultivation in cooperation with producers. Gan and the exporters of this agricultural product. " According to the statement released by the centre, the development and sustainability of palm and dates are also given significant consideration in Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030," with an emphasis placed on speeding up the preparation and implementation of plans for the development of this sector and increasing its share of the country's GDP. The number of date palms in Saudi Arabia has reportedly reached 33 million, making up 27% of the world's total. About 1. 2 million tonnes of palm and dates are produced annually in this country, and their present market worth is estimated at 7. 5 billion Saudi riyals. This accounts for about 12% of the country's total agricultural output and 0. 4% of its total non-oil output. According to the Saudi government news agency, the country has not only supported the palm and date sector domestically but also internationally through many programmes coordinated by the United Nations. Plans include registering dates as a "premium fruit" in 2019 with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), following up on the FAO's approval of 2027 as the international year of dates, and maintaining efforts to designate a day as "Day Date World" on the United Nations' calendar.
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