The rise in price of Saudi Arabian eggs and poultry has prompted Bahrain’s poultry traders to pass on purchasing Saudi products.
Bahraini traders say their local products are not as high as the price of Saudi products, with the lower price of chicken being maintained in Bahrain through government subsidies.
The price of a kilogram of imported chicken from Saudi Arabia was SR 13.95 (€2.884) and of locally produced chicken SR 13.50 (€2.791), according to recent market sources.
Farm closures threatened
Poultry manufacturers in the United Arab Emirates threatened to close their farms unless their government stepped in to stop their losses because of the increased cost of importing chicken feed.
The manufacturers say that the government does not allow them to increase their prices to compensate for their losses. On the other hand, the supermarkets are selling the farm products at a profit, the farmers pointed out.