Jordan poultry breeders call for government assistance

Jordan's poultry breeders have called for the government's assistance, asking that it lift the sales tax on chicken and eggs, allow cheaper Asian laborers to work in the industry, subsidize fodder, monitor retailers, and reverse a decision to allow the import of eggs and frozen chicken, according to reports.
Currently, one kilogram of chicken costs JD1.4 (US$1.97), but breeders are selling it to retailers for JD1.2 (US$1.69) or JD1.1 (US$1.55) due to the market being flooded with imported frozen chicken, which is sold to consumers for about JD1.2 or JD1.3 (US$1.83), said breeders. "We cannot sell our chicken and eggs like before, after the government opened the door for imports," said poultry breeder Kamal Qaraan. "This is endangering our business."

The decision to allow egg imports was made after local production fell and consumer prices rose due to inadequate supply, according to Nimer Haddadin. "We understand their needs, but we opened the door for importing eggs because we wanted to address the imbalances in the market as the price of eggs rose sharply recently," said Haddadin. He said the JD2 billion (US$2.82 billion) poultry sector is vital to Jordan's economy.