The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC)

The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is a Saudi joint stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund. It seeks to achieve the Food Security Strategy by securing food products and stabilizing their prices through the establishment of subsidiaries. SALIC achieves this goal on its own or via national, regional and international partnerships. It is headquartered in the capital, Riyadh.

SALIC was established in 2009, and began its investment journey in 2012 with many global companies in the field of agriculture, rice and meat in different countries, such as Australia, Ukraine, India, Brazil and Britain.

SALIC seeks to supply larger quantities of food through external investment, and enhance the operational efficiency of its existing investments. The company also develops its relations with leading international companies in the field of grain and food processing, not to mention its endeavor to expand its local and international investments. Moreover, SALIC invests in agricultural technologies that aim at rationalizing water use, raising production efficiency, preserving the environment and developing a responsible and sustainable investment portfolio that achieves global food security.

In 2020, in cooperation with the National Shipping Company (Bahri), SALIC established the National Grain Company in Yanbu at an estimated cost of SAR412 million, which is concerned with the trade of grains from their sources, strengthening food supply chains, stabilizing food prices in the Kingdom and providing logistical support to importers from the public and private sectors.

SALIC's investments include ten local and international companies: the Australian Meridian Agriculture company for grain and livestock farming, the Ukrainian Continental Farms, both fully-owned by SALIC, which owns shares in several other companies, such as Nadec at 20 percent, Almarai at 16.32 percent, Saudi Fisheries Company at 39.99 percent, G3 Canada at 75 percent, the Indian LT Foods at 9.2 percent, Minerva Foods Australia at 35 percent, the British Hummingbird Technologies at 15.89 percent and the National Grain Company at 50 percent.

SALIC aims to supply more basic goods through external investments, in addition to increasing the operational efficiency of existing investments and developing relationships with leading global grain and food manufacturers. SALIC also intends to expand local and international investments in accordance with its strategy, including investing in agricultural technologies that aim to rationalize water use, increase production efficiency and preserve the environment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, SALIC managed to secure some basic goods to ensure the stability of the local market. It supplied sixty-four thousand t of wheat, about five thousand t of onions, six thousand t of red meat and about five hundred thousand boxes of eggs.