Pakistan to expand food and agricultural exports to Saudi Arabia

Islamabad and Riyadh have agreed to boost Pakistani agricultural and food exports to Saudi Arabia to $3 billion, the two countries said in a joint statement on August 30.

The statement, released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), said the agreement was reached following “successful” talks between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research, at the initiative of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

وزیراعظم کی سرپرستی میں پاکستان اور سعودی عرب کے درمیان زرعی شعبے میں اہم پیش رفت.

وزیراعظم کی ذاتی دلچسپی سے سعودی وزیرِ ماحولیات، پانی و زراعت اور وزارتِ قومی غذائی تحفظ و تحقیق کے درمیان کامیاب مذاکرات ہوئے.

مشترکہ اعلامیہ:

اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکستان اور مملکتِ سعودی عرب کے… pic.twitter.com/Alv2M6JTT1

— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO) August 30, 2026

The Pakistani prime minister met with the Saudi delegation and held detailed discussions on potential areas of cooperation, according to the statement.

“The two countries expressed their shared commitment to increase Pakistan’s agricultural and food exports to Saudi Arabia to $3bn, with efforts to be made to achieve the target over the next two years. For this purpose, rice, red meat, fruits and their concentrates, green fodder and water-efficient agricultural technologies were identified as priority sectors in collaboration with the Saudi private sector,” the joint statement read.

Saudi Arabia, in particular, expressed interest in gradually doubling its imports of red meat from Pakistan, with both sides exploring the possibility of Islamabad supplying around 30,000 tonnes of the product annually, worth approximately $167 million.

By Jeyhun Aghazada