The damage incurred by small independent poultry farmers during the passage of Hurricane Dean has already impacted on the country's poultry sector.

Chief executive officer of the Jamaica Livestock Association, Henry J. Rainford, told The Gleaner yesterday that more than 100,000 day-old chicks were dumped last week as farmers affected by the Category Four hurricane were unable to purchase the poultry from its hatchery.

Mr. Rainford said that thousands of poultry farmers islandwide lost their livestock, coops and equipment.

"The problem is our customers have no where to put these chicks," Mr. Rainford said.

"We lost almost a week's supply of chicks as some 150,000 are usually sold per week to the farmers," he added.

The more than 100,000 day-old chicks, Mr. Rainford said, make up approximately 30 to 40 per cent of the country's broiler industry.

He charged the Government to provide assistance to the poultry farmers in terms of funding to rebuild coops and to purchase equipment such as zinc sheets and chicken feed.

"They will bounce back very quickly if they get assistance. Within eight weeks they can be back in business," Mr. Rainford said.

He noted that this devastation will no doubt impact on the number of ready-to-eat poultry on the market and possibly the price of chicken meat.