DAMMAM – While chicken stalls in the Kingdom make special offers to consumers to beat the recession caused by the summer vacation and many people traveling abroad, sheep prices have gone up with rates ranging from SR350 to SR1,200 per head depending on size and quality. Ashraf Hassan, a dealer, said the fall in poultry supply has not affected prices as they have settled at SR8.5 per chicken. He ruled out any increase in price in the near future. "Poultry farms have decided to cut prices by 50 halalas in the middle of Ramadan to ensure quick sales and avoid accumulation of stock," Hassan said. "The huge demand for white meat during Eid Al-Fitr was one of the reasons for the drop in supply. But it did not affect prices as shops were selling 1 kg of chicken for SR10.5 to SR11," he added. Fathi Al-Saeed, another dealer, said there are three poultry farms in the Eastern Province with a total capacity of 750,000 chickens. "This will not be enough to meet the growing demand. Daily demand during Eid Al-Fitr holidays rose from 90,000 to 110,000." The consumption is likely to fall during the summer vacation when many people will be traveling abroad and companies supplying chilled chicken will have a difficult time disposing of stock in the coming days. "Farmers supplying live chicken would take protective measures in August when humidity levels reach the peak to reduce the number of chicken that fall sick and die due to extreme weather conditions." Farras Al-Tarouti, an investor in the sheep market, spoke about the increase in the prices of sheep, which ranged from SR350 to SR1,200. A kilo sheep meat now costs between SR40 and SR60. The meat of local Hashi sheep is sold at SR40-SR45 while imported Hashi meat is sold for SR35 per kilo. The price of a live Hashi sheep is between SR3,500 and SR4,500. The price of beef varies depending on the age of the slaughtered animal, beginning from SR25 per kilo. A live cow is sold for SR3,000 to SR6,500 depending on the age and quality. "We depend on dairy farms to get cows for slaughtering," he added.
