Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics has released its 2024 Agricultural Statistics Bulletin, showing date production at approximately 1.923 million tons, up 1 per cent compared to 2023. The country recorded more than 37.6 million date palm trees, with over 32 million of them bearing fruit.
Open field vegetable production reached 2,745,000 tons from 89,700 hectares in 2024, an 8.4 per cent increase year on year. Potatoes led with 624,000 tons, followed by watermelons at about 612,000 tons.
Greenhouse vegetable output reached 797 tons in 2024, an increase of 10.6 per cent compared to 2023. Greenhouse cultivation covered 7,800 hectares, and the number of greenhouse structures exceeded 121,000. Tomatoes were the leading crop at 329,000 tons, followed by cucumbers at more than 232,000 tons. The bulletin repeated the 797-ton greenhouse total and the 10.6 per cent increase in a second reference.
The total area of organic and transitional farming in the fruit and vegetable categories reached 24,100 hectares. Organic and transitional farming of perennial trees, excluding palm trees, accounted for 12,500 hectares or 52 per cent of the total. Organic and transitional palm cultivation covered around 6,200 hectares. Production of other organic and transitional crops reached 98,300 tons, an increase of 3 per cent compared to 2023.
Agricultural exports in 2024 totaled 506,000 tons, up 13 per cent year on year. Edible fruits and nuts accounted for 72.1 per cent of all exported agricultural volumes.
The data shows growth in date output, steady demand for open field vegetables, and continued expansion of controlled environment cultivation across Saudi Arabia's fresh produce sector.
Source: Maaal
