An imminent rise in the prices of meat, milk and related products is looming in the air as the Kuwait Flour Mills Company and the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources as reports of increase in the price of fodder for cows, sheep and camels began to surface as of the beginning of this month, angering the animal breeders.
The Al-Rai daily quoting sources said the mills company blame the high costs of basic feed materials are related to shipping and insurance which are the cause of incurring losses, but the livestock breeders feel they are at the receiving end with the jump in the prices of subsidized fodder.
They warned should this happen, it will reflect in the rise in the prices of meat, milk and cheese, which prompted the Federation of Livestock Breeders to appeal to the Prime Minister, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, to intervene and end the crisis, especially since the repercussions of the decision were reflected in the prices of weeds, which jumped by about 20 percent.
Although the new decision to raise prices issued by the company was limited to unsubsidized fodder, it automatically withdrew from the prices of subsidized fodder, which has disappointed the breeders, in light of the lack of rain and the negative repercussions of the price hike.
An official source in the company explained there is no change in terms of subsidies, but the increase in the prices of unsubsidized fodder has naturally led to a rise in the prices of subsidized feed, because the value of the subsidy is still fixed, reassuring on the other hand that it is unlikely to witness any change in prices during the coming period.
He said as an example that the unsubsidized sack of barley (50 kilograms) became 4.950 dinars, while it was previously 4.100 dinars an increase of 850 fils, noting that “despite the current increase in feed prices, they remain the lowest among neighboring countries.”
The source confirmed that the new prices came as a result of global changes and conditions, and with the increasing losses borne by the Mills Company due to the high prices of grain and shipping, revealing that the allocations for the increase in cost was about 7 million dinars in the last fiscal year.