KUWAIT CITY, May 24: An advisor in the food industries Muhammad Al-Fureih 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, reports Al-Rai daily. He warned of the repercussions of the global conditions on the local situation. Al-Fraih stressed that the government should either offer subsidies to poultry and meat producers to face those conditions, or allow them to raise prices to cover its losses, adding, “Otherwise the current conditions will cause some companies to cease production, and the negative effects of this halt will be on food security”.

He went on to say, “The number of poultry and egg production companies in Kuwait is about 25, including six major companies in this field. Collectively, they produce 35,000 tons of frozen, fresh and live chicken annually, covering 30 percent of the local market’s needs. We also have self-sufficiency in eggs”. Al-Fraih stressed that local companies have the ability to increase production whenever government support is available to them. He explained that, “The Saudi National Company, for example, produces 1.150 million chickens and 30 million eggs per day, thanks to the unlimited government support for it and for 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.

“These prices have risen globally, as the price of a ton of soy, for example, has increased from KD 450 to KD 900 in just a month. This is happening due to the scarcity of feed that affected countries of the world and the closure of the export door in some of them. “The Kuwait Flour Mills Company has a role in providing nutritional supplements for poultry production, such as soy, salt and vitamins, by importing and buying them in bulk, or manufacturing and selling them to local companies with appropriate government support, so that we can keep prices from rising. There are two options for the situation in the near future - either increase the government support for production companies, or allow them to raise prices. “This is necessary to protect these companies from losses and to preserve the local production of poultry and eggs, as well as the availability of food security in the country”.