Local poultry farmers thrown off-balance by smugglers

…situation to return to normalcy by mid-August

Local poultry farmers were thrown off-balance by chicken smugglers and as such when the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) clamped down on the illegal trade, this triggered a shortage of chicken on the market.
This is according to the Guyana Poultry Producers Association (GPPA), which on Wednesday in an advertisement in the local media said that the smuggling of chicken from Suriname contributed to a surplus of chicken in Guyana, because the local poultry farmers could not estimate the amount of smuggled chicken entering the country and continued producing as per norm.
According to the GPPA, smuggling of chicken in large quantities began in early 2018.
It explained at that time Suriname only had a five per cent duty on imported chicken, which resulted in the meat bird being imported into the country in large quantities from the United States and Brazil legally. The poultry was then smuggled across the Surinamese border into Guyana.
Further, the GPPA stated that the surplus lasted from May 2018 to March 2019, which accounted for the largest glut of chicken Guyana has ever experienced.
The GPPA further noted that last month, the duty on imported chicken to Suriname climbed from five to 40 per cent which dented the smuggling business.
Moreover, it said the Enforcement Department of the GRA got wind of this illegal trade and stepped up its campaign against the smuggled chicken. “It appeared that their efforts resulted in large seizures of chicken brought in illegally from across the border.”
In March of this year, the Poultry Association said farmers were left with excess birds in their pens which were between 12 and 15 weeks old although the normal growth period was six weeks.
This, too, played a part in the current shortage.
“The delayed time for this excess chicken to be sold resulted in long delays before farmers could start a new crop of chicks, since new crops require the pens to be empty,” the organisation explained.

Normalcy
Presently, hatching egg imports have increased and local farmers have placed adequate supplies of chicken on their farms that will reach processing age in another week or two which is expected to bring an end to the shortage of local chicken, the GPPA assured.
“The GPPA would also like to assure the Guyanese public that chicken supplies would return to normal by mid-August,” the statement said.
Further, it said this problem was unlikely to reoccur now that the disruption has been rectified. As such, the grouping expressed gratitude to the Enforcement Department of the GRA for its efforts in clamping down on the illegal entry of chicken into Guyana.
Last week, the Guyana Livestock and Development Authority (GLDA) announced a shortage of chicken on the local market. It said it was “monitoring the situation”.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the Authority said based on its records, there has been a reduction in the number of cases of hatching eggs imported compared to 2018, which perhaps could have contributed to the shortage.
Additionally, some farmers have also been complaining of reduced growth rates and higher mortality.
“The major players in the sector were consulted and assured that the situation would be rectified during the week. This is based on the hatching and grow-out time for the chickens. They have also assured that they are able to maintain supply to their major customers,” the statement noted.
Days after, a major fast food establishment, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) came out saying that it has been affected by the recent chicken shortage, causing it to limit the meals that are available.
In a public notice, the fast food franchise informed customers that some of the combos they are accustomed to ordering would not be available owing to the poultry shortage.