(Maaal) reveals: Saudi Arabia has 3rd lowest food price inflation among G20 in February

Maaal’s monthly monitoring revealed that food inflation in Saudi Arabia was the third-lowest among G20 countries in February, after China and France. This is due to the stability witnessed in the Kingdom’s food markets, far from the instability prevailing in many global commodity markets, most notably those for corn, edible oils, coffee, and red meat. This is in addition to the growth and increase in domestic demand, in light of the increasing numbers of tourists, pilgrims, and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques.

According to the monitoring, the annual food price inflation rate in the Kingdom for February 2025 was 1%, according to a report issued this week by the General Authority for Statistics. This places the Kingdom with the third-lowest food price inflation rate among G20 countries. China led the way with a 3.3% contraction in food price inflation, while France came in second with a positive food inflation rate of 0.3%, followed by the Kingdom with a 1% rate. According to the FAO, the organization’s Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in February, a monthly increase of 1.6% from its level in January 2025. The index recorded an annual increase of 8.2% compared to February 2024, as all other price indices rose, with the largest increases recorded for sugar, dairy products, and vegetable oils. The stability of the Kingdom’s food price inflation rate, compared to the instability in global markets, reflects the continued abundance of various food commodity markets and the Saudi economy’s ability to absorb any regional or global crises, thanks to the stability of food supply chains for the Kingdom’s markets, both domestically and internationally. The slow inflation rate in Saudi Arabia represents a new testament to the success of the Kingdom’s economic policies, stemming from the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

It is worth noting that the Kingdom has successfully addressed the repercussions of numerous successive global and regional crises, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the Bab al-Mandab Strait crisis, and the war in Gaza. Royal orders to cap gasoline prices have contributed to curbing rising inflation rates locally, in addition to decisions to support the availability of basic food commodities at a time when global inflation rates have been steadily rising. Monitoring data indicates that Argentina remained at the top of the G20 countries with the highest food price inflation rate in February, at 52%. Turkey followed with 35.1%, Russia with 11.7%, Japan with 7.8%, Brazil with 7%, and India with 3.8%. Saudi Arabia also had the lowest food inflation rate among the Arab countries that published data for February. Oman had the lowest rate, at 0.1%, followed by Saudi Arabia with 1%. Meanwhile, food inflation in Tunisia was the highest, at 7%, followed by Egypt and Iraq with 3.7%, and Jordan with 2%.