Preventing the supply of eggs and chicken to Gaza exacerbates the losses of Palestinian producers

Hebron - Ofek News - After monitoring the repercussions of preventing Palestinian products from milk and dairy derivatives from reaching sanitary paper and plastic products, “Ofek News” turned to the poultry and table egg sector, where Palestinian producers are facing the repercussions of stopping supplies to the Gaza Strip, at a time when production burdens are accumulating and prices are declining in the local market.

Jaber Al-Tamizi, an expert in poultry farming and table eggs, said during his conversation with our correspondent that the supply of table eggs and broiler chickens from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip continued for two to three months after October 7, 2023, before it stopped following an Israeli decision to prevent the supply of these products directly from the West Bank.

Al-Tamizi explained, in an interview with Maan’s correspondent, that the quantities of table eggs that were supplied to Gaza amounted to about 20 thousand cartons per day, at a rate of five days per week, while the quantities of broiler chickens ranged between 20 and 40 tons per day.

He pointed out that stopping the supply caused great harm to poultry breeders in the West Bank, in light of the loss of a market that absorbed an important part of Palestinian production, which, according to his estimate, contributed to an increase in local supply and a decline in prices to low levels, which exacerbates the economic pressures on farmers and producers.

He added that the producers tried to communicate with the competent Palestinian authorities to address the problem, but these attempts did not result in the resumption of supply, and he expressed his hope that the relevant authorities would move to find solutions that would allow Palestinian products to reach the Gaza Strip.

This issue comes in a broader context of the challenges facing the movement of Palestinian products between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as we previously discussed in Ofoq News the repercussions of stopping the arrival of Palestinian products to the Strip, and the resulting losses for local producers.

These files highlight the losses incurred by the Palestinian producer as a result of the disruption of access to markets, at a time when the Gaza Strip needs food supplies and basic goods, while producers in the West Bank are searching for outlets to dispose of their production and maintain the continuity of their businesses.