Saudi Arabia

Saudi chicken meat imports expected to decline by 19%

Poultry

Saudi Arabia's total chicken meat imports are expected to decline by about 19% in 2018, to 575,000 metric tons, compared with last year, according to a report published by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.

Posted on Nov 09 ,12:15

The report explains that the main cause for this decline in Saudi Arabia's total chicken meat imports is the Saudi Food and Drug Authority’s (SFDA) ban on electrical stunning in poultry slaughtering.

The new requirement was imposed on June 2018 and has significantly lowered the chicken meat exports to Saudi Arabia by Brazil, the Kingdom's main poultry meat supplier. The requirement has also eliminated U.S. poultry from the Saudi market. For 2019, FAS forecast that total Saudi chicken meat imports will reach 675,000 metric tons.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's chicken meat exports are expected to reach 10,000 metric tons. FAS says "the main reason for the sharp drop in Saudi chicken meat exports is the import ban placed on Saudi chicken meat imports by the GCC countries because of the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza in major chicken meat producing provinces beginning at the end of December 2017".

The Kingom's domestic chicken meat production is expected to be lower in 2018 than in 2017, reaching 650,000 metric tons, down from 790,000 metric tons, according to data from the leading domestic chicken meat producers. For 2019, FAS estimates a total chicken meat production of 700,000 metric tons.

 

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