Advisor in the food industries, Muhammad Al-Fraih, revealed a poultry crisis is looming on the horizon after the rise in feed prices globally, in light of the lack of government support for production companies, warning of the repercussions of global conditions on the local situation, and stressing that the government should support poultry and meat producers to face those conditions, or allow it to raise prices to cover its losses. Otherwise, the current conditions will lead to some companies stopping production, and the negative effects will be on the food security.
Al-Fraih told a local Arabic daily, “the number of poultry and egg production companies in Kuwait is about 25, including 6 major companies in this field, and collectively they produce 35,000 tons of frozen, fresh and live chicken annually, covering 30% of the local market need, while we have self-sufficiency in eggs,” stressing that local companies have the ability to increase production whenever government support is available to them.
He explained, “the Saudi National Company, for example, produces 1.15 million chickens and 30 million eggs per day, thanks to the unlimited government support for breeders of all types of feed, at a rate of 75 percent, in contrast to the Kuwaiti government support, which only covers corn, and does not reach other feeds, such as soy, vitamins, salts and others, and these prices rose globally, as the price of a ton of soy, for example, increased from 450 to 900 dollars in just a month, and is increasing due to the current situation the world is witnessing at all levels.”
He demanded that “the Kuwait Flour Mills Company play its role in providing nutritional supplements for poultry production by importing and buying in bulk, or manufacturing and selling them to local companies with appropriate government support, so that “we can keep prices from rising,” stressing that “the future has two options — either increasing government support for production companies, or allowing them to raise prices, in order to protect themselves from losses and preserve local production of poultry and eggs, and the availability of food security for the country.”
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