The prices of poultry, meat and dairy products are expected to drop after King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, ordered a 50 percent increase in the subsidy for fodder, said traders and farmers Thursday. A positive impact of the Royal Order will be felt within three weeks, said the traders. “We haven't felt any change in the price of barley. I bought a bag for SR60, which was 50 percent more than the official price. “I expect the prices of fodder and barley to fall due to the government's generous subsidy. But without a strict follow-up by the authorities concerned, it will be difficult to bring prices down,” said Ahmad Barkah, a trader. Hassan Al-Mesri, another trader, expects sheep prices to remain stable because of the King's order. An investor in the fodder industry in the Eastern Province said the subsidy ordered by the King, which covered all fodder products, will definitely bring down the price of fodder since the subsidy in the past was limited to barley and its derivatives. Muhammad Slaim, another investor, said the next few weeks will witness a major breakthrough in the price of poultry in view of the fact that most poultry farms have old barley stocks which will be consumed soon.
