United Group, Saudi Arabia’s largest barley buyer, is abandoning Black Sea
supply after the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted grain shipments, CEO Abdulaziz
Aldharrab said. The Black Sea supplied roughly a quarter of the company’s
imports in 1H but that share has fallen; United Group is redirecting purchases
to the EU and Argentina. Since summer the conflict has damaged grain terminals
and sharply cut exports, lifting barley delivered to Saudi Arabia by as much as
25% versus two months ago. Aldharrab said “we should see food prices rise as
costs eventually pass through the industry to consumers.” United Group now
expects Argentina to account for about 30% of purchases this year, up from
roughly 20% last year, and is also buying from Romania, Bulgaria and France
while evaluating Australia and Baltic suppliers.
