This research measures the impact of water scarcity on agricultural economic development and economic development indicators in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 1995–2018. By examining the current status of available water resources and their uses, and estimating a model to study the impact of water scarcity on agricultural economic development. The study relied on descriptive and standard economic analysis to estimate the proposed regression model. It found that a 10% change in the amount of water resources available leads to a 5.1% change in the same direction of the crop area. A 10% change in the estimated crop area results in a 1.5% change in the same direction of the total agricultural output value. A 10% change in employment and agricultural loans leads to a change in the same direction of the aggregate agricultural output value of 5.1% and 7.2%, respectively. A 10% change in the total value of the estimated agricultural output leads to a 2.9% change in the same direction of GDP. Thus, a lack of water resources will decrease the crop area and have a negative impact on the value of agricultural output, thereby impacting GDP. We therefore include policy recommendations for the conservation of water resources: The government should stop the export of virtual water, particularly for water-depleting products; an economic accounting framework for water should be introduced to monitor the amount of water in excess of the water codification for various crops prevailing in the crop composition.

The goal of this study was to look at the economic relationship between energy, water use, and plant and animal food production in Saudi Arabia from 1995 to 2020. The results showed that about 55.5%, 82.4%, and 2.5% of changes in the index of plant and animal food production were related to changes in the consumption of water, electricity, and diesel, respectively, using an econometric analysis and the partial correlation coefficient of the second order. The proposed model demonstrated that a 10% change in predicted water, power, or fuel consumption resulted in a 1.97%, 2.78%, and 0.73% change in the index of plant and animal food production, respectively. In light of the Green Middle East Initiative, which intended to minimize carbon emissions, and Saudi agriculture’s goal of rationalizing water use, the country’s total consumption does not exceed 8 billion m³ of renewable groundwater. This is intended to reduce the use of fuel and increase the use of electricity in the agricultural sector. This rationalizing water consumption, reducing diesel consumption, and expanding electricity consumption affects the production of plant and animal food. In light of the strong interdependence between water, energy, and food production, the agricultural policy has become necessary to increase the amount supplied or available for water to be used in food production, in addition to expanding the production of clean energy and its use in the agricultural sector.

Purpose: This study aimed to measure the effects of the Russian–Ukrainian war on the value of imports and the food trade balance in Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approach: Estimating the suggested model using econometric analysis for the years 1990–2021.Findings: The amount of deficit increased in the food trade balance from 11.58 billion riyals in 1990 to 72.98 billion riyals in 2021. As for the increase in the index of food production by 10%, it leads to a decrease in the value of food imports for Saudi Arabia by 1.88%. Also, the value of the deficit in Saudi Arabia's food trade balance decreases by 5.24% as a result of a 10% rise in food exports to the country.Originality/value: In light of the increase in the food price index to 145.8, the value of food imports and the deficit in the food trade balance exceed their counterparts in the current situation for the year 2021, at a rate of 37.1% and 44.5% for each respectively. In view of achieving huge financial surpluses as a result of the rise in oil prices, the Saudi Arabia is able to bear the high import bill and the amount of food trade balance deficit. Finally, the Russian–Ukrainian war leads to an increase in the cost of obtaining food commodities and their unavailability in the markets and thus affects the food security environment. Therefore, this study recommends the necessity of conducting more studies on the impact of the war on the food security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This study analysed the competitiveness indicators of Saudi exports of dates using econometric analysis and competitiveness indicators. The Republic of Yemen was found to rank first in importing Saudi dates, followed by the United Arab Emirates, then by Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, Somalia, Lebanon and Qatar. A clear discrepancy existed in the average export prices of Saudi dates between the various importing countries, where the average export price ranged between a minimum of $559.9/tonne; Syria had an upper limit of $4,368.2/tonne for South Africa. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoyed a competitive advantage in exporting dates to South Africa, followed by the Emirates, Pakistan, Jordan, Djibouti, Turkey and Syria. The geographical concentration coefficient for each of the quantity and value of Saudi exports of dates was approximately 0.40 and 0.37 for each during 1990–2018. A 10% change in the competitiveness of Saudi dates, expressed in the rate of the actual performance of the foreign date trade, led to a change in the same direction of the quantity of Saudi exports of dates by 3.8%. The study recommends increasing the competitiveness of dates in international markets and preserving markets where in the Kingdom enjoys a competitive capacity for its agricultural exports.