PHOTO BY GEORGE HENRY - Some farmers might be forced to stop rearing chickens because of the increasing competition from imports and large producers.POULTRY FARMERS in sections of Clarendon and Manchester are facing harsh times as the task of selling their produce has become increasingly difficult in the months following Hurricane Ivan.
Several farmers reported to Farmers Weekly that since the hurricane's passage, sales have been very slow as a result of the the importation of chicken on the local market, as well as fierce competition from large producers, which has been creating an obstacle for them selling their chickens.
The farmers lament that because the imported chicken was being sold at a much cheaper price and packaged in more attractive wrappers, consumers were choosing to buy the imported product over the local ones.
IMPORTED CHICKENS PREFERRED
Desmond Bartley, who has been in the business for more than three years, told Farmers Weekly that the imported chicken which started to enter the island following the hurricane has found favour with consumers, as it is said to be more attractive, due to the fact that they are attractively packaged. Checks with several supermarkets in the areas where the farmers operated confirmed that consumers preferred to buy the imported chicken.
In addition, the supermarket owners said the local farmers were not complying with basic health safety standards stipulated by the Health Department and the Jamaica Bureau of Standards.
Bartley, who operates his poultry farm in Bombay, north-east Manchester, said he purchased 180 young chickens every three weeks, which he mostly sells to jerk chicken vendors and restaurants.
INCREASED COSTS
The chicken farmer noted he has had to increase the price of his chickens to $75 per pound up from $60 per pound after Hurricane Ivan in September last year because of an increase in the price for young chicks, feed and other important inputs. As a result, he said consumers have been complaining that the price was too high.
Glendon McDonald of Sanguinetti, Clarendon, who has been in the poultry business for more than 10 years, related a similar problem. He said he has had to reduce the number of chickens he usually purchases from 300 to a low of 50 every two weeks because of dwindling sales.
The farmers said they might be forced to stop rearing chickens because of the increasing competition from imports and large producers.
