GPA bemoans no consultation on chicken imports for year-end

Drifting away from convention, Government did not hold consultations with local producers on the availability of chicken for the demanding Christmas season before it distributed licences for the importation of the commodity.

Guyana Poultry Association Member David Fernandes
Guyana Poultry Association Member David Fernandes

Traditionally, the relevant Government agency would meet with the local producers in the third quarter of the year to enquire about their capacity to fulfil the increased demand during the holiday season before making a decision to grant licences to import chicken.leg-quarters

But Guyana Poultry Association (GPA) Member David Fernandes explained to Guyana Times that the process embarked upon to grant licences was far from inclusive.

Fernandes said the meetings would usually occur in October when the GPA and other producers would provide data and statistics on their capacity to supply the forecasted local demand and then Government would decide if there was need to import chicken if a shortage was predicted.

He lamented that unlike last year and the previous years, this stage was bypassed and some 19 persons were issued licences to import some 800,000 pounds of chicken.

Fernandes, who is also the Assistant Managing Director of Bounty Farm Ltd, had previously expressed having “no clue” why the Government would issue those licences when there was no shortage of chicken.

The Business Ministry recently explained that consultations were held with stakeholders in the industry on January 8 prior to issuing any import licences to chicken importers for 2016.

According to the statement, the participants agreed that import licences for frozen chicken would be issued in two batches for the year 2016, one for the first half and another for the second half of the year. It was also agreed during that meeting that licences would be issued for the importation of 950,000 pounds of chicken for the first half of 2016.

The Ministry also assured that a list of those who participated in the consultations was available to the public, but all efforts exhausted by Guyana Times to receive a copy of those names were unsuccessful.

Phone enquiries were made and this publication even visited the office only to be told by the staff that they needed authorisation to release the information that the Ministry, in its statement, announced to the public.

The GPA, according to Fernandes, participated in the consultations in January, but he indicated that his understanding of the outcome differed from the Ministry’s.

Fernandes expected another engagement in October to discuss the demand and supply for the Christmas season.

He posited that it was impossible to forecast the production levels for December during a January meeting.

The importation of chicken has always been a controversial issue in Guyana, as some importers have been very unscrupulous in the quality of chicken brought into the local market.

Only recently, the Law Enforcement and Investigation Division (LEID) of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) seized millions of dollars’ worth of chicken, which was smuggled into Guyana via Suriname.

Local farmers have also expressed that they would be able to meet the demand once given the opportunity.

This precipitate importation of foreign chicken is considered to be not in the interest of the Guyanese consumer or the national interest.

In the past, chicken imports consisted of the lowest grade of chicken, some of which was designated pet food.

Other chicken imports were birds which had been kept in refrigeration 10 to 12 years or even longer, and were not meant for human consumption.

Reports suggest that the local importers go after the cheapest chicken they could find, little aware that it is substandard meat the exporters are dumping on them.

In addition to potential health risks to consumers, the import of chicken, which could be supplied by the local producers, only undermines national interest.

The chicken industry has been a large and reliable customer of the rice industry, which has been going through a crisis.

Additionally, the industry is one of the largest employers in the rural areas and if minimised, citizens in these communities would suffer greatly since the industry provides employment for thousands of workers. One well-known producer, Bounty Farms, for example, employs more than 500 workers.

If given the opportunity to satisfy local needs without disturbance, this newspaper was told, the chicken industry could eventually be in surplus and ready to join the league of exporters. This publication was told that such a move by the Government will have devastating consequences on local chicken producers and the feed industry.