– Dr. Ramsammy
MINISTER of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has indicated that there is, presently, no evidence of a shortage of chicken and eggs on the local market, as is typical at this time of the year.

Speaking at a press conference in his ministry’s Regent Road, Bourda, Georgetown boardroom on Tuesday, he noted that, every year around September/October, the government issues licences to import chicken.
But he disclosed that more than 2.1 million kilogrammes of chicken were produced in November.
“The poultry farmers and the Poultry Producers Association have been in constant touch with me because we wanted to make sure that we would not have a shortage,” Ramsammy stated.
However, he pointed out that chicken price, throughout this year, was marginally higher than last year and earlier in the year there was some shortage and a rapid escalation of the price.
He said the price stabilised and, over the last several months, in spite of the approaching Christmas holiday, the price has been fairly stable.
Ramsammy said, although the price has varied between October and now, it has been relatively consistent, which, according to him, is quite different from other Christmas seasons when prices went up.
The minister added that there is still another week to go during which the demand for poultry is expected to increase and that may have an effect on price.
Prepared
He emphasized, though, that the Poultry Producers Association of Guyana has indicated that they do not expect a shortage in the market nor that the price would escalate and they are prepared to supply whatever is demanded.
Meanwhile, Ramsammy also acknowledged that the price of beef has been increasing slightly and, although the demand for it has gone up, there has been no indication of shortage on the market.
He said the demand for pork, presently, does exceed the supply and, consequently, the prices are far higher than they were last year.
“Pork prices in 2012 have shown an increase and we need to confront that reality. The demand throughout 2012 has been higher than the supply and that is something that we are presently addressing. But it can’t be addressed overnight,” Ramsammy admitted.
In terms of vegetables, the minister did not anticipate any issues and stressing that the agriculture sector is well prepared for this Christmas season, in terms of foodstuff.
“I think we have escaped any major shift in prices. They are stable and I am hoping that remains so. For eggs, too, I think they are around $780 per tray and that has been quite consistent. In fact, it isn’t much different from last year at this time,” he remarked.
Nevertheless, he emphasised that private business is all about supply and demand and while prices can increase due to an increased demand, there are also times when they are dropped due to decreased demand.
Still, he said that does not mean people should be unreasonable and, thus far, there has not been any hint of wild escalation.