RIYADH, 8 July — Agriculture and Water Minister Dr. Abdullah Muammar said yesterday that his ministry would not intervene in a price war launched by dairy farms in the country. Speaking to Arab News, he said the price war would not affect the Kingdom’s dairy industry.
“We will not interfere in this issue and will leave the matter to the producers themselves to decide,” the minister said, adding that his ministry, however, would not hesitate to give any advice if requested.
Muammar said his ministry was in regular contact with the Dairy Producers Authority to improve its efficiency by including both small and big producers. “The main goal of this authority is to intervene as quickly as possible in case of disputes between producers,” he added.
The price war between dairy producers broke out anew on Thursday when Almarai, a major producer, decided to lower prices by up to 33 percent. Al-Safi-Danone Company, which holds one third of the market, responded quickly saying it will also cut prices in a commercially viable manner. Almarai said the company was selling its laban and milk products at reduced rates — SR3 for the one-liter bottles and SR6 for the two-liter ones. The company disclosed that it has six world-class cow farms with more than 40,000 heads and 30 sales outlets in the Kingdom and other Gulf countries. Almarai denied suggestions that it was triggering a price war. “Many other companies have reduced their prices before and have carried out promotions violating an existing agreement,” it said in reference to an accord reached by 24 dairy firms in May last year.
