Ration cards.. securing food material for Kuwaitis since 1972

KUWAIT, Dec 31 (KUNA) -- Providing food security is amongst the chief priorities for the government and since the establishment of the Kuwait Supplies Company in 1972, ration cards played an important role in providing high-quality goods to consumers with nominal prices.
On an annual basis, the State of Kuwait provides around KD 100,000 million, (USD 340 million), to cover citizens' needs for food and necessities.
Through ration cards, heads of households are entitled to rice, fresh and powdered milk, Lentil, oil, and sugar.
Baby food and milk, dates, frozen chicken, and other food necessities were added to the list to cover the citizens' need for supplies and a committee was established by the state to look into the inclusion of more goods in the future according to the needs of citizens.
Ration cards also went through different phases with the recent step being the issuance of smart cards that are digitally connected to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's data-base to ensure and improve methods of supplies distribution throughout the 69 ration centers in all Kuwaiti governorates.
Recent statistics by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said demands for ration cards were on an increase since 2009 with 175,000 cards benefiting around 1.4 million individuals. (end) smr.gta