MoCI to provide free temporary storage for local suppliers of basic commodities
Bid to motivate producers and hike production
KUWAIT CITY, March 28: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has succeeded in providing additional temporary storage spaces for local factories and companies supplying food and basic commodities without charge during the corona crisis, reports Al-Rai daily.
An official source told the daily that the ministry is keen on motivating local producers and suppliers to increase production and import from abroad as protection measures to support the strategic stock, with additional quantities of main commodities. In this manner, the State guarantees to address decline in flow of goods from foreign markets if the corona’s ramifications increase and affect the future of markets amid the enormous fluctuation in global markets, the source revealed.
The source confirmed that eight entities – including the ministry, government institutions and the private sector – have contributed to the formation of additional storage space map in preparation for hand over to suppliers and producers; indicating the ministry is working hard to expand this map further.
So far, these temporary warehouses include a number of buildings of cooperative societies which have yet to operate, in coordination with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. These warehouses include Al-Siddeeq Cooperative Society, a store in Sabah Al-Ahmad Cooperative Society and another association that will be determined later. Al-Siddeeq Cooperative Society will be granted to Kuwait Supply Company to fully utilize it for storing goods. This is in addition to more than one site of the Public Authority for Sports, the source disclosed.
The source affirmed that the ministry is working to secure storage spaces to match its plan to increase the strategic stocks of food, medicines and major consumables. He said the ministry pledged to provide these spaces to the private sector, as well as Kuwait Supply Company, in order to reduce the financial burdens of various commercial and industrial enterprises and ensure the continuation of work specified by the unified price regulation without any price increase.
Since the beginning of the repercussions of the spread of corona, the ministry adopted a series of economic emergency measures; perhaps; the largest since the liberation. These measures include maximizing the strategic stock, increasing its main components and maintaining them in the most difficult scenarios. For this purpose, the ministry encouraged the commercial sector to raise the import levels of these commodities as much as possible, the source explained.
Another form of motivation is the ministry’s offer to foodstuff companies to buy all their stocks and pay in cash immediately, provided these companies invest their available liquidity by increasing their import of these commodities and maximizing their strategic stocks, the source concluded.