The goal of this study was to determine how the loss of dates affected food security in Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2021. The researchers achieved this by using food security indicators, economic equations to quantify agricultural resource losses, and econometric analyses to develop a partial adjustment model. The results show that dates are considered a self-sufficient crop as well as an export crop, as the state resorts to exporting the surplus instead of storing it for local consumption. During the study period, there was an increase in the period of sufficiency in date production for local consumption and the period of coverage of imports for local consumption. In 2000, the volume of dates lost increased by approximately 131.22%. The total loss of land and water resources reached 31,918.4 hectares and 324.759 million cubic meters, respectively. The value of the partial adjustment coefficient (λ) indicates that about 81.1% of the imbalance in the equilibrium between the actual and equilibrium levels is adjusted within one year. Loss is considered one of the most important factors that determine food security for dates, in addition to the total value of loans financed to date factories, the total population, and the level of technological progress in the marketing and storage of dates. It was found that a change of 10% in these variables leads to a change in food security for dates of (−2.37%), 0.07, (−15.33%), and 0.58%, respectively, and the adjusted coefficient of determination was estimated at 0.93. This study recommends the following: (1) expanding the use of modern technologies for date post-harvest transportation and storage, and (2) increasing support and loans allocated to date factories to increase warehouses for cooling and storage to accommodate the increase in production and surplus consumption.

The research aims to assess fish production, consumption, self-sufficiency rates, and deficits in fish food in Saudi Arabia from 2001 to 2022. It will also evaluate local production sufficiency and import duration and analyze economic and environmental factors influencing fish food security over this period. The study employs descriptive statistical analysis to identify trends, patterns, and outliers in the data, using measures such as means, standard deviations, and growth rates. To investigate the relationships between variables, the research applies the Error Correction Model (ECM), a methodology designed to capture both short-term dynamics and long-term equilibrium relationships. The ECM analysis is supported by unit root tests (Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron tests) to assess stationarity and cointegration tests to confirm stable long-term connections. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation techniques are used to derive model coefficients, while additional diagnostic tests ensure the robustness and reliability of the results. Key findings include annual growth rates of 5.8% for fish output, 4.0% for fish imports, and 4.0% for local consumption. The fish self-sufficiency rate has significantly increased at 6.7% per year. However, the fish food gap, local production sufficiency period, and proportion of imported fish consumed daily are growing at rates of 2.7%, 10.9%, and 1.6%, respectively. The error correction model indicates an error correction coefficient of approximately 0.54, statistically significant at 1%. This coefficient represents the percentage of imbalance in the food security coefficient for fish that can be adjusted yearly, with a correction period of about 1.85 years. Thus, it takes roughly 1 year and 10 months for the food security coefficient to return to equilibrium after deviations occur. Based on these findings, the report recommends three actions: increasing modern fishing vessels, funding fish farming initiatives, and reducing environmental pollution to enhance self-sufficiency and outpace population growth.

This study analyzed the determinants of household demand for food away from home (FAFH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Truncated generalized Poisson regression (TGPR) and truncated standard Poisson regression (TSPR) was applied to data from a random sample of 101 families. Maximum likelihood was used to obtain parameter estimates for these two models. TGPR was found to be optimal and appropriate for the analysis of demand data. Both income and number of household members had a significant positive effect, which is consistent with economic logic and reality in Saudi society. Price and taste also had positive effects on FAFH demand. Household income as an economic variable has a significant positive effect on the number of times that a household dines out during the month. When income increases by one thousand Saudi riyals, the demand will increase by 11%, which is consistent with economic logic. Household income as a quantitative economic variable and the number of household members as a quantitative demographic variable are the most important variables in household demand for FAFH. However, the effect of income is more significant than that of the number of household members. As this study investigated the impact of socio-economic and demographic factors on food away from home (FAFH) demand in Riyadh such as household income, number of household members, education level, prices and cleanness of restaurant, and taste of food. Still there are other variables could be used as potential variables could affect FAFH demand in Saudi Arabia in future research such as the change in number of working women which there is shift in the number of female workers recently. The future studies could look at the differences in socio-economic between consumers for different types of restaurants such as traditional, fast food, fish, and luxury restaurants. Due to the high demand for restaurant meals, officials should tighten the health control and close restaurants that do not comply with health requirements as well security and safety requirements. Restaurants should pay attention to improving the quality of meals and offering them at affordable prices to consumers.

This study evaluates and compares the empirical performance of three demand system models―Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), Quadratic AIDS (QUAIDS), and Rotterdam―in estimating price, income, and cross-price elasticities for potato demand in Saudi Arabia. Given the volatile nature of emerging-market data, the study aims to identify the most suitable model for accurately capturing consumer behavior in the Saudi potato market. The empirical analysis highlights the strengths and limitations of each model in handling price and income fluctuations. While the AIDS and QUAIDS models proved theoretically attractive, both exhibited estimation challenges in this context, including statistically insignificant coefficients, violations of homogeneity and symmetry, and unstable elasticity results. QUAIDS, though capable of capturing nonlinearities, suffered from convergence issues and multicollinearity under volatile conditions. These limitations prompted the adoption of the Rotterdam model, which provided a more stable and theoretically consistent forecast. The study also implements homogeneity and symmetry restrictions within Rotterdam’s framework (RMLE) to enhance model reliability. Diagnostic tests, including Wald tests for coefficient significance and Durbin-Watson tests for residual autocorrelation, confirm the robustness of the findings. In addition, the analysis highlights the practical significance of elasticity estimation for policy design and food security planning. The results offer valuable insights for policymakers and market analysts to understand demand elasticity and improve forecasting in Saudi Arabia’s potato sector.

Chemical fertilizers are essential inputs for agricultural production. Using the correct amounts at the right times improves crop yields and, consequently, farm income. The self-sufficiency rate for nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers averaged about 101.47% and 138%, respectively, from 2008 to 2023. For wheat, nitrogen units reached approximately 85.76 effective units per Feddan (about 0.42 hectares), with a productivity of 0.21 ardebs (1 ardeb of wheat ≈ 150 kg) and a net revenue of roughly 412.66 EGP per nitrogen unit. Similarly, phosphorus units averaged 46.50 effective units per Feddan, producing 0.39 ardebs per unit and generating 772.72 EGP per unit. For cotton, nitrogen units averaged around 79.56 effective units per Feddan, with a productivity of 0.10 quintals (1 quintal ≈ 157.5 kg for seed cotton) per unit and a net revenue of 909.96 EGP per unit. Phosphorus units reached about 52.31 effective units per Feddan, with a productivity of 0.13 quintals per unit and a net revenue of 1390.15 EGP per unit. The production elasticity of these fertilizer units in wheat was 0.963, indicating decreasing returns to scale. For cotton, the total production elasticity was approximately 0.887, also showing reduced returns to scale. The study recommends policies to boost domestic fertilizer production, especially nitrogen fertilizer lines, ensure timely distribution to farmers in sufficient quantities and at appropriate times—particularly during summer—and promote the combined use of organic fertilizers alongside price controls.