KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica's government says it is holding talks with stakeholders in the poultry industry, with a view towards implementing strategies to reduce the level of increase passed on to consumers.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Pearnel Charles Jr., told Parliament earlier this week that his ministry is exploring several practical solutions within the short to medium term to mitigate further increases and to work with all stakeholders to continue to ensure the sustainability of the country’s food supply.
He said the Andrew Holness government is considering the temporary suspension of the common external tariff (CET) and additional stamp duties (ASD) levied on leg quarters.
“Currently, the price of leg quarters within the local market is $360 per pound. While we would be able to import leg quarters at J$100 (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) per pound and have consumers paying roughly J$160 per pound, this would allow Jamaican consumers to purchase at least three times the quantity of poultry meat than they are currently able to afford.
“Leg quarters are readily available at more competitive prices than other chicken parts currently being utilized,” he said, adding that the measure would be temporary until the local market recalibrates to normal levels, where supply matches demand as was successfully done before, when the country faced a similar crisis.
But a senior official at the Jamaica Broilers Group, has taken objection to the government’s move saying that it would be tantamount to building the chicken industry in the United States while causing the local industry to fail.
Jamaica Broilers Group vice-president of finance, Ian Parsard, in a company update, said the move would “amount to a reversal of government policy, which, in the last 30 years, was aimed at growing the broiler industry” and that he expected the government to reconsider its position.
“Over the past three decades, successive governments on both sides of the political divide have been deliberate in facilitating the growth of our poultry industry. Today, our industry is the largest agricultural industry – and it continues to grow and develop.
“With farmers heavily vested in all 14 parishes and the direct participation of approximately 150,000 persons in the industry, we are confident that the current Administration and the new minister of agriculture will make the correct decision for Jamaica,” he told the Jamaica Observer newspaper, adding that removal of World Trade Organization (WTO) and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) approved tariffs would have an instantaneous and negative impact.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Minister had noted that the authorities are executing a robust program to promote the consumption of alternatives to poultry, ensuring Jamaicans have a range of options and adequate supplies of affordable protein.
He said the Ministry is also pursuing increased and efficient production of small ruminants, fish and pigs, which will serve to reduce the current demand for poultry.
“Additionally, our food bill already includes commodities which are affordable sources of proteins like canned fish, beef, chicken and pork. These, too, can be utilized and prepared in many different creative ways to allow consumers to have an ample supply and range of protein in their diets,” he said.
Charles Jr. said the government has been actively seeking more affordable market options for inputs such as baby chicks and fertile eggs that can meet regulatory requirements and bring down the prices for local farmers.
“This move will invariably redound to the benefit of all consumers,” Charles Jr. said, noting that the Ministry will be examining mechanisms and incentives to make the sector more attractive for investors to invest in local processing and growing of birds.
“So, as we seek to identify sources of low-cost feed for our poultry farmers, we have also mandated our Research and Development Division to carry out investigations, in conjunction with private stakeholders, to identify opportunities and develop formulae of feeds that will possibly be cheaper and utilize our local raw materials as alternatives, supplements or replacements,” the Minister said.
He said that in order to ramp up production locally, the Ministry will also seek to encourage competition within the poultry sector by incentivizing the investment in local processing facilities for new entrants and that the government remains committed to engaging relevant stakeholders, both public and private, in pursuing these options to ensure that Jamaica will remain a food-secure nation.
He noted that the broiler companies currently produce approximately 60 per cent of total poultry, with the remaining being supplied by backyard farmers, adding that their operations have been severely impacted by the ongoing challenges caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“The agricultural sector has not been spared the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with pervasive logistics challenges within the global trade for commodities that have resulted in severe supply chain bottlenecks and delays.”
Charles Jr. said that these supply chain disruptions are coupled with labor shortages, increased costs for transportation, packaging materials, grains, feed and baby chicks.
“It is important to note, also, that roughly 75 per cent of the eggs used to provide baby chicks for the industry are imported, with Jamaica Broilers being the only broiler company with a local hatchery that produces approximately 40 per cent of their fertile egg needs. This situation has now resulted in individual and contract farmers finding it increasingly challenging to source baby chicks for both their broiler and layer operations,” he said.
