Abstract

Objectives: This research aims to study quantitative models to determine the optimal economic distribution of the Kingdom's rice imports, with the goal of reducing the total cost and identifying the potential savings that can be achieved by restructuring the distribution of import sources. Methods: The study relied on the UN Comtrade database (2024-2010). To achieve the research objective, a linear programming approach was employed. Results: Findings indicate that, under the first model (free model), the optimal distribution is achieved by importing rice from the China and Australia. In the second model (restricted free model), the optimal sources are China, Vietnam, Paraguay, Egypt, and Australia. Under the third model (stable rice exporters to the KSA), the optimal sources are Pakistan, Vietnam, and Egypt; while in the fourth model (restricted stable exporters), the optimal sources are Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Egypt. In the fifth model (economic groupings), the optimal distribution involves imports from China, the United States, Egypt, Belgium, Paraguay, and Australia. The analysis further reveals that the first and second models yield the highest cost savings in rice import value, estimated at approximately 32.8% and 27.5%, respectively, of the total import value. Conclusions: The study recommends adopting the optimal economic distribution of rice imports identified in this research to minimize the value of the Kingdom's rice imports.