1. Introduction and Objectives
The Arab Organization for Agriculture Development (2012) statistics showed that United Arab Emirates
(hereafter UAE) self-sufficiency (local production/total supply) reached 23% and 54% on poultry meat and
eggs respectively [1]. The UAE self-sufficiency on broiler meat increased from 9% in 1982 to 23% in 2010.
The UAE self-sufficiency of eggs more than doubled from 23% in 1982 to 54% in 2010 – Fig. 1. However,
one would argue that significant investment opportunities exist because 77% and 46% of poultry meat and
eggs consumed are imported from other countries. Such a gap between production and consumption creates
large future investment possibilities to substitute imports. It is well known that feed represents about 70-75%
of operational costs at any typical broiler and layer farm. It is also commonly assumed, sometimes
erroneously, that any unknown problems in commercial poultry management and production are by default
due to the nutrient composition of poultry feed. Thus, it is important to evaluate the nutrient requirements of
poultry feed produced in the UAE feed industry, along with conducting an economic analysis of the poultry
production. The economic analysis focuses on country self-sufficiency and the need to expand investment in
order to contribute towards covering local demand of poultry products. Also, another objective of this
research paper is to discuss exploratory results regarding the poultry industry enterprise profitability and feed
quality differences, as well as the poultry industry future possibilities of investment expansion in the Emirate
of Abu-Dhabi, UAE. These exploratory results are based on a survey of broiler and layer operations in the
Emirate of Abu-Dhabi carried out by a research team during 2012. The efficiency of (high quality) feedutilization
ratio in the poultry industry, i.e. feed amounts consumed by the chicken’s final body weight, is an
excellent indicator to measure the efficiency of a poultry farm’s performance and management, as well as an
indicator to measure farm profitability. In other words, the less feed used to produce chicken meat the better it
is from a production perspective [2] and [3]. Consequently, the study’s questionnaire was designed to collect
information on commercial poultry farms regarding feed sources, quality, cost, and efficiency of feedutilization
ratio. Evaluation of nutrient requirements and cost of poultry feed produced by the UAE feed
industry provided an excellent source of information to establish whether or not the industry produces feed in
accordance with the National Research Council (NRC) recommendations and guidelines [4].