Red Sea Farms, a Saudi AgTech company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudia, the national flag carrier of the Kingdom.

The partnership will provide the airline’s guests with sustainable, locally-sourced foods, lowering ‘food miles’ by replacing imports
Red Sea Farms’ produce was a key element of the Saudia guests experience in-flight, the AgTech company said, adding the airline’s menu development and video content sought assistance from the company.

“[The partnership] will assist the airline in achieving its goal of becoming an industry leader in sustainability, and continually improving its environmental performance,” the statement said, adding the airline’s guests will be served with the farm’s snack tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 will see 100 million visits to Saudi Arabia by the end of the decade. A cornerstone of that vision is for the Kingdom to be a leader in sustainable and even eco-friendly tourism,” Saudia chief executive officer Captain Ibrahim Koshy said.

The partnership follows rapid operational progress by Red Sea Farms in 2022.

“As a proudly Saudi-made company contributing to the country’s 2030 goals – including achieving an environmentally sustainable society and the recent extension to Net Zero by 2060 – we are delighted to partner with the national flag carrier and aim to be the country’s flag carrier for sustainable foods,” Red Sea Farms Middle East’s chief executive officer Simon Roopchand said.

Since January, Red Sea Farms has announced its expansion into the United States; completed a new commercial-scale six hectare technology retrofit site near Riyadh and an research and development facility at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal.

Roopchand added “If all tomatoes consumed annually in Saudi Arabia were grown with Red Sea Farms’ cooling technology, 80,500 tons of CO2 emissions would be saved; the equivalent of over 3,000 flights from Riyadh to Dubai.”

Red Sea Farms’ long-term goal is to become a world-leader in providing sustainable technologies for harsh environments.

A vital first step is becoming one of the most sustainable food businesses in Saudi Arabia, where over 80 percent of fresh food is currently imported, the statement said.