West Bank sees complaints over rising poultry prices

The prices of chicken in Palestine’s West Bank have hiked, prompting consumer rights organisations to launch boycott calls.

In an attempt to increase supply in the Palestinian market and subsequently bring down prices, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture allowed vendors to import poultry from Israel.

Palestinians in the West Bank have complained about the abrupt rise in chicken’s prices, which have reached 22 shekels (more than $5) per kilogram, while prices in farms range between 13 to 14 shekels (around $14) per kilogram.

The hike in prices has caused resentments among Palestinians, especially that chicken constitutes the main meal for many low-income citizens who cannot purchase the even more expensive red meat.

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Farmers on the one hand and consumers’ rights entities, as well as the agriculture ministry, on the other hand have pointed fingers of blame at one another over who bears responsibility for the rise in prices, given that prices in the West Bank are mainly controlled by leading poultry merchants.

The ministries of agriculture and economy have received blame for their economic policies that are thought to have resulted in the rise in prices and a shortage in poultry supply in the market. The government is also accused of failure to support farmers.

Abbas Melhem, the head of the Union of Chicken Farmers in the West Bank, told Quds Press that the prices problem started months ago when indicators first surfaced to demonstrate that the poultry sector is collapsing. He also pointed to how the owners of small sized farms had incurred big losses earlier when prices declined and how they were not compensated by the government, which led 50 per cent of them to quit working in the sector. As a result, Melhem added, only monopolisers who control the market and the owners of large farms, who can farm up to tens of thousands of chicken, remained in the sector.

The rise in prices “has not benefited small merchants, but it has rather benefited the poultry sector’s monopolisers – companies that control the prices of chicks and feed in light of the government’s clear absence,” Melhem said.

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He called on the government to intervene to cut down the costs of chicken production by reviving the right to a 16 per cent tax return, which had stopped in 2011. “This will enable the government to compel farmers to keep prices low, and it is the dominant system in the occupying state. But in the West Bank, when poultry prices were low, the market was dumped by chicken that was smuggled from the occupied land [Israel], and currently as prices are high, imports are banned.”

He also argued that the Palestinian Authority is adopting wrong economic policies in an attempt to address the problem by agreeing to conditions set by Israel, such as banning poultry imports except from Israel only.

Melhem noted that the Palestinian market in the West Bank consumes 3 million chicken per month, which means 100 chicken daily.

On its part, the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy on Sunday set the price of poultry at 17 shekels per kilogram while that of chicken with features at 13 shekels. The ministry said in a statement that it will set the prices every week according to the situation in the market.

The Ministry of National Economy also said it has put a price cap for this week following a consultative meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture.

In its statement, the ministry also called on merchants to abide by the prices it set and specified in the statement, adding that those who violate these prices will be subjected to prosecution, and that the ministry’s staff will patrol the market in northern provinces to ensure that merchants abide by the price cap.

The marketing manager at the Ministry of Agriculture, Tarek Abu Laban, said that the problem of rising prices on its way to be resolved, and that Palestinians will soon witness a decrease in prices in the coming days after merchants have been allowed to import chicken from Israel.

Poultry prices have seen an increase in the West Bank and Israel alike due to climate conditions, Abu Laban said, adding that the ministry’s staff will carry out patrols to monitor prices in the market and to ensure that merchants do not take advantage of the supply shortage.

The Ministry of Agriculture official also denied that the ministry froze its decision to allow poultry imports from Israel last week. He clarified that the decision was tied to sharp rise in prices and decline in supply, which has been the case in the past two weeks, and therefore the decision was put into force on Sunday.