RIYADH, 3 April — Agriculture and Water Minister Dr. Abdullah Muammar met here yesterday with poultry farmers in the wake of reports that the dumping of cheap chicken by foreign firms was threatening the Kingdom’s poultry industry, estimated to be worth SR20 billion.
“The meeting with the minister is a good opportunity to present the concerns of, and the obstacles facing, the industry, which accounts for 65 percent of meat supply in the Kingdom,” said Hussein Bahry, chairman of the Cooperative Society for Poultry Producers.
Bahry called for strong government backing for the industry, which is braced for tough competition in the coming years when the Kingdom joins the World Trade Organization.
“We need quick and strong support from the government for this vital industry,” he added.
Abdul Rahman Al-Areefy, chairman of the national agricultural committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that dumping was one of the major problems facing the local poultry industry, and singled out the particular threat posed by poultry imports from France and Brazil.
In his address, Muammar said the government will do its best to reduce the problems and obstacles facing the industry. “There is good coordination with other government departments to stop the spread of infectious diseases among chickens,” he said.
The Kingdom has achieved 76 percent self-sufficiency in the poultry sector, and 100 percent in eggs, the minister added. There are 288 poultry farms in the Kingdom with an annual output of 483,000 tons, and 96 projects that produce 2.34 million eggs annually.
The government has extended loans worth SR2.38 billion to these sectors over the past few years.
Talal Abdul Rahman Faqeeh, marketing manager of Faqeeh Poultry Farms, said that the dumping of chicken by a number of countries is a threat to the local poultry industry, in which Saudi businessmen have invested more than SR20 billion over the years.
Statistics reveal that a single Saudi consumes more than 300 kilograms of chicken meat annually.
“Some foreign firms supply chicken at the rate of SR3 each to control the market,” Okaz Arabic newspaper quoted Faqeeh as saying.
“The situation is dangerous and must be dealt with cautiously,” he said, and urged the government to increase customs tariff on poultry imports and strengthen its support for the local industry.
Ahmad Al-Bahith, another producer, alleged that foreign companies were opting to sell chickens at less than the cost price in the Saudi market in a bid to finish off the local poultry industry.
