Technical and Economic Analyses of Poultry Production in the UAE: Utilizing an Evaluation of Poultry Industry Feeds and a Cross-section Survey

The project objective is to closely investigate select UAE poultry industry production issues as well as technical and marketing aspects. A comprehensive cross-sectional survey was conducted of UAE poultry farms using PDA (Portable Data Assistant) technology. Study objectives include: (1) obtaining baseline information on existing broiler and layer farm subsectors; (2) quantifying the amount of input used in the production process and the outputs obtained, and to identify some main and by-products that might have some economic value; (3) and assessment of feed-utilization produced by the feed industry. Economic characteristics of a typical poultry farm in UAE include: average broiler production at about 2,880 tons; average layer production at about 49 million eggs; and feed cost share of the average farm's operational cost estimated at 95%. This indicates the importance of expanding investment in UAE poultry sector. Efficiency of feed utilization of birds fed feeds from one company was slightly better (1.68 vs. 1.71) than birds fed feeds from the other company. Feed utilization efficiency of selected major feed producers in the UAE could meet the standards of high quality, commonly used meat-type strains. Such results are useful to the decision-maker at both the farm and policy levels.