The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has approved a temporary increase in the prices of eggs and poultry products for a period of six months. The price hike has been capped at 13 percent, as per a ministerial resolution issued earlier this month.
The decision was made in response to a request submitted by several companies operating in the sector, which reported incurring losses over the last period due to high production and shipping costs, and an increase in the prices of imported raw materials like fodder, according to the MoE.
The ministry conducted a study to verify the companies’ demand, and found a 13 to 20 percent price hike reasonable. The results were submitted to the Supreme Committee for Consumer Protection at the federal and local levels, which recommended the approval of a maximum increase of 13 percent.
The MoE clarified that the temporary price hike was taken to strike a balance between the needs of the business sector and the consumers, as well as maintain food security in the markets. The ministry stated that the increase would help protect egg and poultry companies and farms from global inflation and high production costs, while also ensuring that prices remain stable and reasonable in the markets.
The ministry also took into account the current rates of raw materials and other requirements for egg and poultry production, such as fodder, fuel, and vaccinations, as well as high international shipping prices, especially from Russian and Ukrainian ports that serve as the main global supplier of grains used in the feed industry.
Eggs and chicken products are among the commodities whose prices cannot be increased without prior approval from the ministry. The MoE indicated that the 13 percent increase was a “justifiable rate that is in line with the high prices of these products regionally and globally.”
The temporary price hike will be reassessed after six months, and if the justifications behind the hike no longer exist as a result of market improvements, the price increase shall be cancelled or modified, the MoE said.
