December 9, 2014
Qatar’s government plans to lease 5.7 million meters of land to develop a chicken farm that will have an annual capacity to produce 45 million kilograms, or 99 million pounds of chicken meat by 2018. The farm will be backed by Qatari investors who have already committed US$206 million to the project and an initial public offering could be possible as early as next year. The project will initially produce eggs and feed to generate revenue prior to selling chickens. Qatar has only one chicken producer, the Arab Qatar Co. which is 40% owned by Hassad Food, and does not produce enough chicken to meet domestic demand, producing only 11,000 tons according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Imports are poised to increase by 11% in 2015 to 110,000 tons, and domestic demand is set to increase 9% in 2015 to a record 111,000 tons.
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