The Future of the Poultry Industry in Kuwait
The poultry and egg sector constitutes the cornerstone of Kuwait’s food security system, yet it faces economic and operational challenges that threaten its sustainability. The most prominent of these is the heavy reliance on imported feed, as corn and soybean meal account for approximately 90 percent of production costs. This makes the sector vulnerable to global price fluctuations, geopolitical crises, and shipping disruptions.
The severity of rising feed costs is evident in recent financial comparisons: the price of a ton of corn has risen from approximately 75 Kuwaiti dinars to 112 dinars, while the price of a ton of soybean meal has jumped from around 120 dinars ($400 USD) to 270 dinars ($900 USD), driven by increased land transport costs from neighboring countries.
Conversely, the selling prices of chicken and eggs remain capped, squeezing the profit margins of local producers and weakening their competitive capacity.
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Furthermore, high climate-related costs in Kuwait, resulting from the need for insulated facilities and continuous cooling and ventilation systems, elevate production costs compared to countries with more favorable climates.
To address these challenges, it is essential to establish integrated feed production complexes and strategic silos providing a six-month reserve. Support mechanisms must shift from subsidizing corn alone to supporting complete compound feeds. Additionally, the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, tracking systems, and enhanced biosecurity levels in farms is required.
Sector stability also necessitates the use of hedging tools to mitigate feed price volatility, expansion into value-added products such as processed poultry, marinated chicken, chicken cuts, and egg derivatives, and investment in high-efficiency breeds that convert feed effectively and withstand high temperatures.
Important solutions include reorganizing the transport and import system, and allocating specific facilities and berths at ports to serve food security companies, thereby reducing land transport costs. This should be accompanied by flexible government subsidies linked to global food price indices, ensuring consumer price stability and guaranteeing the continuity of local production.
Moreover, transitioning to solar energy and utilizing poultry waste to produce organic fertilizers or biogas presents an opportunity to lower costs and convert waste into an additional revenue stream.
The future of Kuwait’s poultry industry requires a shift from crisis management to strategic planning, combining technology, innovation, financial engineering, and effective public-private partnerships to enhance the competitiveness of local products and support sustainable food security.
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