Frozen chicken is already on its way here as government addressed the local shortage by granting licences for the short-term importation of the commodity.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad is quoted by GINA as saying on Thursday that “Government will not be taking any chances. We want to make sure that chicken is on the market and the prices are relatively stable, so we have decided to intervene and give licences to bring in foreign chicken in the short-term to alleviate the shortage.”
He explained that the current shortage of chicken follows the three-week late shipment of hatching eggs owing to flight problems which led to one importer returning his consignment, GINA reported.
It said further that DIDCO, one of the largest producers of chicken, has been experiencing problems and as a result has ceased production.
Prashad said that a meeting was held with members of the Guyana Poultry Producers Association and representatives of Guyana Stockfeeds Limited, hatcheries and other stakeholders and an assurance has been given that there will be an adequate supply by the middle of next month.
The minister also indicated that local producers will be encouraged to expand production, but if they are unable to satisfy the local demand, the ministry reserved the right to intervene and issue licenses for the importation of chicken.
Meanwhile, government will continue to monitor the situation as it does not intend to have a surplus of foreign chicken on the market, GINA stated. However, the prices are not expected to come down to the level of 2007 because of the rise in international prices in essential items such as stock feed.
