Osool Poultry, one of the largest farms for the production of hatching eggs in the Middle East, announced on Wednesday the commercial production and sale of the maiden batch of hatching eggs from its sprawling complex at Haima in the desert heartland of the Sultanate.
The breeder poultry project, set up with an investment of RO 61.5 million, is part of a portfolio of investments spearheaded by the Omani government in support of the country’s food security strategy.
A subsidiary of Oman Food Investment Holding Company (OFIC), affiliated to Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Osool Poultry is targeting an output of a staggering 150 million fertilised hatching eggs per annum by the year 2040 – volumes large enough to meet the annual requirements of Oman’s thriving domestic poultry farming industry, as well as serve a variety of international markets regionally and globally.
“With collective efforts, Osool Poultry begins today commercial production and sells the first shipment of hatching eggs,” the company announced on Wednesday.
It comes just over three months after it received its first batch of baby chicks in one of its breeding farms, paving the way for the start of commercial production of hatching eggs.
Covering a total area of 47 sq kilometres at Ghaftain in Wilayat of Haima, Osool Poultry Company features six breeding farms with 72 houses and 12 hatching egg production farms comprising a total of 144 houses.
These facilities are distributed across three land plots each of about 15 sq kilometres in area. In addition, the complex includes a feed mill with a capacity of 20 tonnes per hour, and a slaughterhouse that can process up to 7,200 birds daily. As an integrated project, Osool Poultry is also equipped with a captive power plant, water treatment plant and other amenities.
Parent stock for Osool Poultry has been sourced from Aviagen, one of the world’s largest providers of broiler chicks for the global market.
Initial shipments of Aviagen’s Ross-308 brand of chicks began arriving in the Sultanate from the supplier’s facilities in the UK in April this year.
In addition to natural biosecurity and favourable wind direction afforded by its location in Haima, Osool Poultry also benefits from the presence of groundwater in aquifers in the area.
Suited to poultry projects, the groundwater will help also sustain the project over its operational life.
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