With the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war fears have gripped the local scene about the negative effects of this war on the country, especially with regard to Kuwait’s stocks of wheat, food commodities, medicines and medical supplies.
In this context, government sources confirmed to Al-Qabas that there is no worry about and added there are no major food items imported from the two warring countries.
The sources said: “The supplies of commodities of wheat and barley are available in large quantities, and the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Company imports wheat from Australia and a little from Argentina, and barley is also being imported from Australia.”
However, these sources confirmed that the prices of wheat and barley will see a significant increase as a result of the current events and the suspension of their supply from Russia and Ukraine, which are considered among the largest countries in the production of these commodities, stressing that for Kuwait, the majority of its purchases of all kinds are imported from Asia, Africa and Western Europe, and therefore the effect will be limited.
The sources stressed given the current levels of strategic stocks, the state has the ability to withstand the expected rise in prices, God forbid, in the event of a halt in supply due to emergency situations.
On the ground, the inspection teams set out to ensure the stability of commodity prices and alert the need to adhere to and abide by the circulars of the Ministry of Commerce and not to raise prices artificially.
The head of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Importers and Pharmacies Owners, Faisal Al-Mojel, stressed that the pharmaceutical sector, like any other important sector in the countries, is premature to talk about the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the import of medicines and medical equipment imported into Kuwait from the countries of the world.
Al-Moajil explained to Al-Qabas that the matter is related to the extent to which civil aviation is affected, not in Russia and Ukraine, but from most countries in Europe, Asia and the United States of America, which are medicines and medical equipment exporting countries to the world, and not only to Kuwait, indicating that the current situation with regard to medicines and equipment in the country is reassuring and there is no cause for concern.
And Al-Mojil added: The Ministry of Health has a sufficient stock of medicines and medical equipment, whether in the Sabhan area or public hospital warehouses, in addition to the large stock of it with the supplying companies and the private sector, noting that the validity of some important and vital medicines and medical supplies ranges from one to 3 years.
Also, the quantities circulating in private pharmacies and government health facilities are large and varied.
He pointed out that there are medical supplies, such as solutions used in operating rooms, with a validity period ranging from 6 to 12 months, and it is considered short, but it is not a cause for concern, explaining that the current period is witnessing a flow in the supply process from drug-producing countries, and there are no obstacles, whether from commercial air traffic or other circumstances.
The head of the Kuwait Food Union, Abdullah Al-Baijan, said that the local commercial markets being affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine are “very likely”, especially that the latter is a source for importing livestock and poultry products, in addition to the possibility of other countries going and putting pressure on alternative producing countries to Ukraine, such as Brazil.
Al-Baijan added the Union has sounded the alarm well before the war, as it submitted memoranda to the Council of Ministers and the ministers concerned with the strategic food stock, to ensure that it was not affected by any wars, regional conditions, the Corona crisis or other emergencies, pointing out that Kuwait lacks the necessary resources and sufficient stores to accommodate the storage of vital nutrients.
Al-Baijan explained that the state has warehouses to store flour, oil, biscuits, rice and lentils, but there is an urgent need for many years to establish large warehouses to accommodate storing other quantities of food supply companies from all countries of the world, so that dealing with any exceptional circumstance becomes very easy and without any obstacles.
