Overview:
The Department of Agricultural Marketing was established by the Ministerial Decree no. 15348 dated 20/2/1422 H. It was established to undertake the responsibility of marketing as well as following-up the then KSA attempts to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Then, the Ministerial Resolution no. 69740 on 22/12/1426 H was issued to create the WTO Affairs Section and was separated by the Ministerial Resolution no. 31689 on 11/7/1436 H.
The Department of Agricultural Marketing was promoted to the General Department of Marketing and Cooperatives and linked to the Undersecretariat of Planning and Development by the Ministerial Resolution no. 189/1/1438 H dated 22/3/1438, and consists of the Department of Agricultural Marketing and the Department of Cooperatives and Civil Associations.
Responsibilities:
The Department of Agricultural Marketing consists of two sections:
A. Section of Internal Agricultural Marketing, which is responsible for:
• Developing and opening new marketing channels;
• Enabling and facilitating agricultural products access to the markets;
• Increasing efficiency of supply chains and storage;
• Increasing farmers awareness with marketing practices through organizing workshops to develop agricultural marketing and taking part in the marketing agricultural festivals in different regions, according to the comparative advantages of each region; and
• Collecting and monitoring data of vegetables, fruits, dates, meat and eggs prices in 26 markets all over KSA and entering it to the portal on a daily basis, in coordination with the general departments of agricultural affairs in different regions and governorates.
B. Section of External Agricultural Marketing, which is responsible for:
• Facilitating access of products with comparative advantage to international markets;
• Contacting and coordinating with sponsor authorities to increase agricultural exports (Saudi Exports - Saudi chambers of commerce - Saudi Customs Authority - Commercial Attachés);
• Reviewing and evaluating agricultural agreements.
The Department of Cooperatives and Civil Associations consists of two sections:
A. Section of Cooperatives, which is responsible for:
• Supporting the establishment of marketing and services cooperatives in different regions according to the comparative advantages of each region;
• Developing a supporting program to help cooperatives achieve success; and
• Providing the technical support that suits cooperatives.
B. Section of Civil Associations, which is responsible for: contributing to the establishment of civil associations that support MEWA strategy in the fields of environment, water and agriculture.
The General Department also carries out a number of the National Transformation Program initiatives: the initiative of establishing marketing services centers for small-scale farmers and producers; initiative of establishing a company for developing and managing markets of agricultural products (vegetables, fruits, cattle and fish); e-trade of dates initiative and the initiative for supporting and improving performance of agricultural cooperatives.
Organizational Structure