Despite structural challenges such as climate stress, regulatory fragmentation, and high import dependency, experts at the IGC Conference emphasized that targeted investments, smarter procurement, and regional cooperation can transform the Middle East into a model of food resilience and strategic grain security.

Despite major strides in domestic food security strategies, the Middle East remains structurally dependent on grain imports and faces growing challenges from population growth, climate change, and fragmented regulation. But opportunities abound, according to speakers at the “Regional Snapshot: Developments in the Middle East” panel during the 2025 International Grains Conference in London.

The session brought together experts from multilateral institutions, major trading houses, and national flour industries to examine how countries across the region are adapting procurement systems, storage capacity, and policy frameworks to ensure grain access in a volatile world.

GRAIN TENDER REFORM CAN SAVE MILLIONS

Dmytro Prykhodko, Senior Economist at the FAO Investment Centre, urged governments to rethink how they purchase wheat through public tenders. “You don’t always need high-protein wheat for good bread. By lowering protein specifications just slightly, or increasing tender size and competition, countries can save millions,” he said.

Prykhodko cited FAO data showing that allowing one more supplier into a wheat tender can reduce price by nearly $2/ton. FAO is currently advising governments to modernize procurement procedures to better align with trade realities.

STRATEGIC GRAIN STORAGE PAYS OFF

Malak Al Akiely, CEO of Golden Wheat for Grain Trading, described Jordan’s long-standing strategy to maintain six months of strategic wheat reserves—an approach that protected the country during recent global shocks. “We weren’t caught off guard when COVID hit, or when freight costs spiked. Our leadership had already made food security a top national priority,” she explained. “Storage, diversification, and clear contracting strategies gave us resilience—especially in a fragmented global trade environment.” Al Akiely also highlighted Jordan’s initiative to transform the Red Sea port of Aqaba into a logistics and digital trade hub, in partnership with UAE-based investors.

Mutlaq Al-Zayed, CEO of Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries, reinforced the central role of reserves and forward contracts in managing shocks in a country that imports nearly all of its food. “Storage is the father of food security,” he said. “We hold enough wheat to cover 3–6 months and contract ahead for an additional 6 months. That’s how we survived the 1990 Gulf crisis, COVID, and now Ukraine.” He also underscored the importance of commercial expansion—from exporting flour-based products in the GCC to investing in value-added processing like pasta and biscuit plants.

REGION FACES LONG-TERM RISK WITHOUT REFORM

Tarek El Azab, Commercial Leader for Corteva in North Africa and the Middle East, painted a structural picture: MENA has one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, but only 0.16 hectares of cropland per capita. “The region’s food systems are under intense pressure. Climate change, import dependency, regulatory fragmentation, and poor storage infrastructure all converge into a serious vulnerability,” he warned. He called for harmonized seed and crop protection rules, the adoption of technologies like gene editing, and investment in regional grain storage and logistics frameworks. “You cannot copy EU regulations without considering local realities. We need systems that enable—not paralyze—agricultural innovation.”

Returning to the theme of infrastructure, FAO’s Prykhodko noted that Egypt has doubled its public sector storage capacity to 3.5 million tonnes since 2014. Meanwhile, the private sector matched this progress without public investment, a compelling example of what’s possible when regulation allows space for private participation.

The panel concluded with reflections on the increasing complexity of grain trading in the region. Al Akiely noted that the role of traders has fundamentally changed: “A trader today must be an economist, a political analyst, and a technologist. Volatility is the new constant. Resilience requires better tools and more collaboration.”

Panelists also discussed regional dynamics such as:

• Potential new trade flows between Jordan and Iraq/Syria
• Regulatory spillovers from EU policy shifts
• The growing role of AI and data in managing future supply risks

All speakers agreed that safeguarding food access in the Middle East requires infrastructure investment, regulatory modernization, and regional cooperation. “There’s no price tag on food security,” said Al-Zayed. “But there is a cost to doing nothing.”