KUWAIT: The egg shortage crisis continues, two weeks after thousands of chickens were destroyed at Kuwaiti farms due to bird flu. This led to a reduction in egg production that reached around 700,000 eggs daily, while the daily consumption locally is nearly 2 million eggs, with a production rate of over one billion eggs annually. Vendor Abu Ali said he sells Turkish eggs. He imported 800 cartons on Saturday and all were sold for KD 1.200 per tray.

Local small eggs are sold for KD 0.900 per tray, while Jordanian eggs are sold for KD 1.200 per tray. Abu Ali said demand is on the rise, while supply covers around only 50 to 60 percent of demand. He said the commerce ministry allows imports from Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and UAE, and subsidies are offered to importers of KD 1 per box. There is a ban on export of eggs to safeguard local production and prevent price rises, but the market has still not recovered. - Al-Rai