Kuwait mobilizes full-state response to safeguard food security amid crisis
From ports to shelters, Kuwait builds multi-layer defense to protect food supply chains; strategic reserves and strict controls as Kuwait secures markets, prices, and supply flow
Through a series of parallel initiatives, the State of Kuwait intensified its efforts to bolster its food security system and ensure sustainability of supplies from the very first hours of the Iranian aggression against the country.
Government actions charted a roadmap linking the provision of urgent needs with the consolidation of the foundations of stability. Government plans focused on supporting the logistical track to secure major strategic reserves and expand the country’s storage capacity, alongside the economic and regulatory track to safeguard markets, control prices, and prevent monopolies.
This extended to the field and operational track to guarantee the efficient management of border crossings and the uninterrupted flow of supplies.
These efforts were complemented by the production and supply track, which doubled food manufacturing capacities and the distribution of essential goods, as well as the preventative and relief track, which transformed shelters and accommodation centers into strategic units equipped to address all eventualities.
Kuwait’s internal efforts coincided with high-level Gulf coordination to emphasize the continued implementation of the GCC Food Security Strategy initiatives, adopted in Kuwait in November 2025.
This aims to enhance the sustainability of food security in the GCC countries, in addition to the importance of facilitating transit and customs clearance procedures, improving the efficiency of land, sea, and air transport, and providing flexible logistical routes.
The state’s efforts in the economic and regulatory spheres were embodied in a package of exceptional measures to protect the local market from supply chain fluctuations.
The most prominent of these measures was the ministerial decision stipulating that the Ministry of Commerce would subsidize the additional costs incurred by importing companies to ensure the continued supply of essential goods to Kuwait during exceptional circumstances, thus guaranteeing the uninterrupted flow of these goods.
Under the strict controls established by the decision, price stability became a fundamental pillar, as companies benefiting from the subsidy are obligated to provide formal pledges not to raise their selling prices domestically and to refrain from exporting their goods abroad without ministerial approval.
To ensure the transparency of subsidy disbursement and its proper allocation, the Ministry established a comprehensive oversight system. This system begins with the Ministry of Commerce’s electronic portal, extends to a specialized committee tasked with reviewing applications, and culminates in on-site audits and record reviews at any time.
The government also issued two ministerial decrees fixing the prices of all types of food commodities and prohibiting their export. This was accompanied by the launch of intensive field inspection tours by emergency teams to tighten market oversight, control prices, and assess available stock levels in private sector warehouses.
These teams also ensured the smooth flow of supplies and the absence of any obstacles hindering the delivery of goods to markets. At the operational and port management levels, several government entities mobilized to guarantee the continuity of operations at commercial ports.
This was done in conjunction with activating emergency and crisis response committees and implementing a set of stringent precautionary measures to enhance the resilience of maritime infrastructure in the face of current challenges.
Border crossings demonstrated high efficiency in facilitating the entry and exit of commercial trucks, with continuous electronic coordination with relevant government agencies and prioritization given to trucks carrying medicines and foodstuffs.
Government measures included rerouting incoming commercial shipments by changing their shipping routes from air freight to transporting them by truck from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and neighboring Arab states via land borders.
Official figures indicate that customs clearance for incoming shipments between February 28 and March 21 included approximately 417 tons of imported medicines, 103,775 tons of imported foodstuffs, and 24,400 tons of imported vegetables.
Moreover, Article 28, concerning the mechanism for releasing food shipments, was activated to streamline procedures at border crossings and ensure the smooth entry of food supplies without delay.
This also involved easing some procedural requirements for releasing shipments without compromising food safety. Furthermore, in the production and supply sector, government agreements between relevant ministries resulted in overcoming obstacles for cooperative societies to develop their supply branches and expedite their operations by allocating some event halls as additional centers for these societies.
It was also agreed to allow cooperative societies to purchase trucks to transport goods to supply centers and cooperative societies, in addition to increasing the number of handling and cashier staff and allocating waiting areas for citizens, especially in crowded centers.
The joint understandings also resulted in providing flexible means for transporting food supplies when needed, whether through direct communication with the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Company and pre-ordering, or by utilizing the vegetables and goods transport vehicles belonging to the societies, as well as allowing cooperation between cooperative societies in transporting needs using shared vehicles.
Furthermore, the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Company significantly increased its bread production to meet the increased market demand, more than doubling the usual quantities, while emphasizing its operational flexibility to allow for further production increases when needed.
The company’s distribution network covers approximately three thousand daily sales points across the country, including cooperative societies, grocery stores, restaurants, and delivery services.
This coincided with Kuwait Airways, with state support, operating special flights to transport shipments of fresh food to Kuwait to bolster the supply of goods to the markets.
The Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading Company continued importing live sheep to ensure food security in the country, in addition to activating its emergency plan in coordination with relevant government agencies.
On the preventative and relief front, a vast network of shelters and accommodation centers transformed into integrated strategic units, supported by substantial stockpiles of food, medicine, and logistical supplies. State leaders conducted inspection tours of all relevant entities and sites within the food security system, including cooperative societies, central control rooms, poultry companies, markets, butcher shops, and the flour mill.
These tours also encompassed border crossings, food testing laboratories, livestock slaughterhouses, farms, production companies, and the Farmers’ Union market.
A large number of ministers and officials from relevant government agencies participated in these tours. On the logistical front, the government, headed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Prime Minister, initiated a series of extensive meetings to focus efforts on strengthening infrastructure and logistics, and providing suitable land for establishing strategic warehouses.
This aims to enhance the efficiency of supply and storage management and meet the future needs of all vital sectors of the state. The meetings focused on transitioning from an immediate response phase to a phase of structural reinforcement.
His Highness the Prime Minister directed the need for coordination with the State Property Administration at the Ministry of Finance to expedite land registration procedures, thereby improving operational readiness and developing the efficiency of strategic stock management.
The broad participation of ministers and various state leaders reflected the government’s commitment to enhancing coordination and unifying the logistical vision across all agencies to ensure the sustainability of food security under all circumstances.
Alongside the state’s strategic measures, awareness campaigns were conducted to guide consumers on avoiding stockpiling of consumer goods, thus preventing waste and undue pressure on the production system, given the state’s food system’s high level of preparedness to face various developments.
— KUNA
