The Lebanese Poultry Syndicate, headed by William Boutros, issued a statement reassuring citizens of the availability of chicken and eggs in large quantities in Lebanese markets, far exceeding the volume of local consumption, which led to their prices falling to levels that are now lower than the cost of production. The union stressed that the threats related to the closure of Bab al-Mandab and the new military developments since yesterday evening will not affect the continuity of supplies of feed and other basic materials that the sector needs, pointing in return to the great suffering faced by egg farm owners, in addition to the difficulties experienced by chicken farmers and producers as a result of the sharp decline in prices. The union revealed that the price of a box of eggs, which contains 12 cartons, is about 25 dollars, which means that the price of one carton of eggs does not exceed approximately two dollars. The union considered that this reality adds a new crisis to the poultry sector, calling on the relevant officials to expedite taking the necessary measures to save farmers and producers from an inevitable disaster, and recalling a number of urgent measures that it had previously called for, the most prominent of which are: • Working to open export markets for the products of the Lebanese poultry sector, especially eggs. • Stop importing chicken and its derivatives during this exceptional stage in support of local production. The union also called on the Lebanese to take advantage of the current decline in the prices of chicken and eggs, and to increase their consumption of these two basic materials, in support of local producers and contributing to reducing the losses incurred by the sector.