FAO engages with Arab countries to improve preparedness to food safety incidents

The recent Food Policy Monitoring Bulletin highlights that inflation continues to ease in most regional countries. Still, it is persistent in some economies, such as Egypt, Lebanon, the Sudan and Yemen. In North Africa wheat yields are projected to be well below-average and, thus, increasing import requirements, while in the Near East, winter cereal production is expected to be above-average.

The region has five hunger hotspots: Palestine, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon and Yemen. Palestine and the Sudan are at the highest concern level. Gaza’s entire population is experiencing high levels of food insecurity at Phase 3 (Crisis) or higher.

Many non-oil exporting countries in the region are struggling with high debt levels. Egypt has raised the price of state-subsidized bread for the first time in more than 30 years. Countries are expanding domestic wheat (Egypt and Mauritania) and fertilizer (Iraq and Morocco) production, while Morocco has increased grain subsidies to boost grain imports.

Trade-restricting measures included extending its export ban on sugar, Mauritania increasing customs tariffs on Moroccan fruits and vegetables, and Sudan increasing customs tariffs across the board. Trade-facilitating measures included Egypt’s conclusion of the export ban on onions and Iraq’s reduced customs tariffs on live animals.

Countries have adopted the following trade-facilitating measures: Egypt’s conclusion of the export ban on onions and Iraq’s reduced customs tariffs on live animals. In addition, due to the Red Sea crisis, countries are diversifying their exports towards new or increasing markets, and the United Arab Emirates is expanding its trade net further with new free trade agreements.

The region has continued to pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation measures: Morocco is expanding vegetable production in mountain areas and developing drought-resistant plants, and Saudi Arabia has developed new banana varieties tailored to its climate. Furthermore, countries are implementing new, sustainable agricultural practices, such as sustainable and intelligent farming (Bahrain, Qatar), development of the carbon credit industry (Iraq), issuing green bonds (Kuwait), reforestation (Libya, Saudi Arabia), and implementing vertical hydroponic farming (United Arab Emirates) and leveraging information and communication technologies (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to advance sustainable farming practices.

To combat water scarcity, the region is improving water usage, such as by constructing water harvesting dams (Iraq, Mauritania), leveraging geospatial information on water resource management (Libya), increasing water desalination capacities (Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia), including through the use of solar energy (Oman), and enhancing water reuse infrastructure (Saudi Arabia).

This bulletin provides an overview of the regional food safety status, the challenges faced, and the necessary actions. FAO engages with Arab countries to improve their preparedness for food safety incidents and supports them with strategic actions in the following areas: strengthening science-, evidence- and risk-based approaches for food policies; reinforced control over primary food production; implementing risk-based conformity assessment procedures and food safety monitoring and surveillance programmes; improving food chain information, education and communication; and increasing preparedness to food safety outbreaks and emergencies.