Saudi Arabia liberalises wheat imports for flour mills

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's state grain buyer SAGO said on Monday that companies that buy its flour mills will be able to import wheat directly from global markets in a further liberalisation of the country's grains sector.

Saudi Arabia is selling its entire flour milling business, a long-awaited privatisation that marks one of the first sales of the country's state-owned assets, part of broader plans to overhaul the economy.

SAGO, one of the world's largest grain buyers, has until now controlled all the country's wheat purchases. But after the privatisation of the flour mills they will be able to buy wheat from global markets directly as well as from SAGO, it said in response to a Reuters question.