RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s total domestic broiler meat production in 2017 is forecast to increase by 4.4 per cent compared to the estimated production in 2016, according to the latest report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. The main reason for the modest broiler production increases this year and in 2017 is the ongoing production expansion undertaken by the three largest Saudi poultry producers, Al-Watania, Fakieh and Almarai poultry farms. Saudi Arabia’s imports of broiler meat are expected to decline slightly due to increased Brazilian export prices in the second half of this year and the anticipated increase in the local broiler meat production.
Brazil has remained the dominant supplier of broiler meat to Saudi Arabia for over two decades. In 2015, Brazilian chicken exports to the Kingdom reached 82 per cent of total Saudi broiler meat imports, followed by France with 15 per cent market share, and the US and Argentina each with 1 per cent.
Meanwhile on the export side, FAS predicted that Saudi broiler meat exports for 2016 and 2017 will remain unchanged at 40,000 MT due to higher local demand, and the $533 per MT export tax that the government levies as reimbursement for the various subsides that local broiler meat producers receive from the Saudi government. The export tax makes Saudi broiler meat less competitive abroad compared to other suppliers.
