Arab food gap based on grains and sugar

The Arab food gap mainly concentrated in grains, oil and sugar, a senior official of the Arab League said here Sunday. The USD 43 billion estimation for the food gap in Arab countries is a big figure that has resulted from the accumulation of previous erroneous decisions, Assistant Secretary General of the Arab League for Economic Affairs Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri told a news conference following the conclusion of the Arab private sector forum. The forum is part of preparations for an Arab economic summit due here on January 22. He pointed to an Arab plan to carry out agricultural projects in other countries like Pakistan, Indian and Soviet Union independent states of Asia. On an emergency food program, he said: "The emergency food program, which covers an agricultural strategy, is going on as planned. Still, it is lacking in Arab financing." He elaborated that the emergency food program would cover the Arab world's agricultural strategy for 30 years to come. For his part, Chairman of the Saudi Chamber of Commerce Abdullah Al-Mobty said the recommendations of the forum will be declared later. He hoped that the visa problem for Arab businessmen could be resolved soon, pointing to ongoing efforts by the chamber in this respect. The Arab private sector forum kicked off here earlier on Saturday, attracting as many as 500 Arab economists to come up with proposals to be presented to the Riyadh economic summit next week.