‘No chicken shortage’ in local market — Trade Ministry

AMMAN — The majority of shops and stores are adhering to the price ceiling of fresh and live chicken set by the Trade Ministry, according to Yanal Barmawi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, in a statement made available to The Jordan Times, said that it recorded 400 violations of chicken price gouging in shopping malls, grocery stores and poultry companies.

The retail price of one kilogramme of fresh chicken is set at JD2 and for live chicken at JD1.65, the statement added.

“There is no chicken shortage in the local market,” Barmawi told The Jordan Times on Sunday, noting that the ministry increased its inspection rounds and constantly monitors markets, to ensure stores’ commitment to the price ceilings.

Additionally, Barmawi called on the public to report any violations in local markets, particularly those related to surpassing chicken price ceiling, through calling the ministry’s hotline at 065661176 or 0797527832 via WhatsApp.

According to Mohammad Hussein, an employee in a chicken chain store, during the holy month of Ramadan and the first two days of Eid Al Fitr, there was a significant increase in demand for chicken which surpassed the numbers chicken farms can provide.

“Maybe some suppliers had trouble keeping up with the increased demand during the last days of Ramadan in particular and Eid, but we did not face any problems and all our customers found chicken at our shops,” he noted. 

“Commodity prices are on the rise which is something that no one can deny, but the recent chicken shortage in the country was not expected,” Um Sultan, a homemaker, told The Jordan Times on Sunday. 

Um Sultan said that two days ago, she went to buy chicken from a poultry shop near her house, and she noticed that the shelves were almost empty.