Head of the Kuwait Union of Delivery Companies Ibrahim Al-Tuwaijri revealed that the delivery market witnessed a significant decrease in the number of delivery orders from July 2022 to the end of December 2022 by 60 to 70 percent, reports Al- Rai daily. In a press statement, Al-Tuwaijri explained that this significant decrease in the number of delivery orders is due to a change in the consumption pattern of citizens and residents, as the focus is now more on basic needs in light of inflation and high prices. Since the implementation of the Ministry of Interior’s new requirements, the number of delivery companies has increased by seven percent, as the number of delivery companies in Kuwait is now about 610.

Almost 70 percent of these companies belong to the small and medium enterprises sector. The salaries of their drivers range between KD 160 and KD 190, and the salaries of the drivers from the remaining 30 percent of delivery companies range between KD 180 and KD 250. The number of cars and motorcycles belonging to all delivery companies in Kuwait is 12,000. These companies increased their prices by 20 percent during the last period due to high costs, the most important of which are salaries and the requirements of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Interior, and Kuwait Municipality.

The Ministry of Interior had not renewed about 3,000 delivery cars since the beginning of the current year, which put them out of service because they did not meet the condition of the life span being less than seven years for cars and four years for motorbikes. The services of delivery companies are not limited to restaurants, but also includes online markets, flower markets, fabrics, sweets, perfumes, and apps that sell their products online.

While Al-Tuwaijri praised the Ministry of Interior’s efforts to control the delivery market in accordance with the recent requirements it imposed in the interest of the public and the delivery companies at the same time, he stressed that some delivery companies are still employing workers who hold article 20 visas, and workers under article 18 visas under different job titles that have nothing to do with delivery, but they work as delivery workers. Al-Tuwaijri indicated that about 400 violations of delivery companies have so far been recorded since the implementation of the Ministry of Interior’s new requirements.

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