(Bloomberg) --
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest barley buyer, is poised to stop running government tenders for the grain as the kingdom shifts toward private deals for imports.
The Riyadh-based Saudi Arabia Grains Organization will stop running the tenders once private companies fully take over the process of importing and selling barley, according to two officials with knowledge of the matter.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency said Tuesday private entities have been assigned the process of importing and selling barley, citing a cabinet statement.
The move is a significant change for a nation whose several grain tenders a year are closely watched by traders for indications of prices and trade flows. In 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled an economic-transformation program under which businesses will take a more prominent role in the state-denominated economy. Food security is one of the goals of that plan.
Read More: Saudi Arabia Ups Food Spending Home and Abroad to Secure Supply
Saudi Arabia imports barley to feed its camel, goat and sheep herds, with sales dominated by Ukraine, Russia and the European Union in recent years. SAGO has managed barley purchases for the past four years.
The country will buy 7.3 million tons of barley in the 2020-21 season, the most in three years, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast.
Early Thursday, SAGO tendered for 760,000 tons of feed barley distributed in 12 shipments. The agency is seeking grain for delivery in January to February.
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