Kuwait will not face food shortages in case of Russia-Ukraine war
Gulf state's strategic stock of basic commodities is as good as it gets
Dubai: Kuwaiti government has said it is fully prepared for the worst scenario in case a war brreaks out between Russia and Ukraine. It has also said it is in constant touch with ministers and officials, especially those in charge of food security, local media reported.
“Kuwait will not face food shortage in case a war is breaks out, but commodity prices may be subject to a temporary rise,” Al Rai newspaper quoted sources as saying.
The sources stated meetings have been recently held with ministers and officials to discuss Kuwait’s food security, led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Fahd Al Shariaan, officials of the Kuwait Ports Authority, the General Administration of Customs, the Kuwait Supply Company, the Union of Cooperative Societies, and Al Mawashi company and two additional companies.
The discussions touched on plans to be implemented to compensate for any shortages that may occur if war breaks out between Russia and Ukraine.
Al Rai said that Kuwait’s strategic stock of main commodities, especially cereals and meat, whether live or frozen, is in its best condition for this period, noting that “the main commodities with long-term validity are sufficient for a period ranging between 6 and 12 months, and may exceed a year, taking into account the usual quantities consumed in the month of Ramadan".
However, a price hike for some commodities is expected in the event of a further slowdown in supply chain, but the government will intervene to protect citizens and prevent them from being affected if the increase is more than expected, the paper said.
Officials of ministries and agencies ruled out the possibility of running out of any commodity locally in the event of the outbreak of war, stressing that “Kuwait’s import from Ukraine is limited, and that it is possible to resort to several alternative markets to compensate for any shortage that may occur in European supply chains, foremost of which is Australia, which is reliable".