Business | Economy
Bird flu fears drive UAE egg prices up by about 30%
Bird flu fears are continuing to drive up the price of eggs, even though the prices of poultry meat are heading south.
- Mohammad Ezz AL Deen, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:32 May 3, 2009
Dubai: Bird flu fears are continuing to drive up the price of eggs, even though the prices of poultry meat are heading south.
Egg prices increased between 25 and 30 per cent last week following a government decision to stop importing poultry products from India, poultry officials said yesterday.
"Prices are expected to be higher if action is not taken by the authorities and importers together," said Sangam Sheth, General Manager of Farm Fresh, a regional leading import and distribution company of poultry, meat and seafood.
Sheth told Gulf News that the market could face a shortage of 57 million eggs each month because local production does not exceed three million.
He said that the Indian authorities are cooperating with the World Health Organisation in order to declare regions of India free from bird flu so they can begin exporting again.
The Committee for Food Industries, which is under the umbrella of the DCCI, is also scheduled to meet today to discuss the challenges and losses facing local poultry traders.
A source from the committee told Gulf News that the cost of living is already high in the UAE and that problems with imports can only drive prices higher.
"The authorities must take action to keep the prices stable," he said.
Meanwhile retailers are saying that even the decline in poultry prices is not inducing customers to resume buying.
"Red meat prices increased five per cent, and consumers are increasingly interested in seafood," said one retailer, adding that alternative meats won't replace poultry entirely because they are more expensive.
He said poultry prices fell from Dh2 to Dh1.5 per kilo this week.
Sheth is already warning of a market collapse that would force small firms and companies to pull out before the end of this year.
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