Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton has condemned the move by the Government to import chicken from neighbouring Brazil to meet the local demand.

Addressing a crowd of supporters at Stabroek Square on Sunday night, Mr. Norton said the move to the lift the ban on imported chicken could decimate the local Poultry Industry.

“You are going to kill the local chicken industry,” Mr Norton warned.

While disputing reports of a shortage of local chicken, the Government lifted the ban on poultry imports, and and started to import chicken from Brazil itself to meet the local demand.

The move was intended to cushion the impact being felt in the Poultry Industry as a result of a deadly poultry virus – Inclusion Body Hepatitis (IPH) – that had resulted in a drop in local production.

Through the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), the Ministry of Agriculture is selling the imported bulk chicken to local poultry producers and farmers at a cost of $285 per pound.

But the Opposition Leader believes that the Government could have better cushioned the impact by subsidizing the cost of feed to increase production.

“A government that is sensible will subsidize the feed and help our farmers to produce chicken at a proper cost. But the President doesn’t think,” Mr Norton said.

President Irfaan Ali, while announcing the procurement of $29M in vaccines to combat the deadly virus at a forum earlier this month, acknowledged that the high cost of feed was also a major issue.

He reasoned that in poultry production, feeds account for 70% of the cost.

“There are three important inputs to feed – the production of the feed here in Guyana – rice, broken rice, corn and soya. From 2020 to now, the cost of rice as an input to feed increased by 100%; the cost of soya as an input to feed increased by 65%, and the cost for corn, as an input to feed increased by 55%, and that is what constitute 70% of growth. Now, what is the contributing factors to the increase in cost, the war in Ukraine, but importantly, is the shipping and logistics cost,” the President explained.

However, the President offered no immediate solution to reduce the cost of feed but hinted at the need to cultivate some 25,000 acres of land with rice, to allow for the country to be become self-sufficient in the future.

Related posts:

Government importing chicken from Brazil to meet local demand; But insists no shortage exists President to move ahead with appointment of Judicial and Teaching Service Commissions; Opposition says consultations not held Opposition calls for salary increases in public and private sectors to ease cost-of-living strain on citizens Essequibo rice farmers protest