— supplies should return to normalcy by mid-August

THE Guyana Poultry Producers Association suspects that the current chicken shortage in Guyana is caused by the smuggling of chicken from Suriname which started in large quantities early 2018.

According to the association in a press statement, Suriname at that time only had five per cent duty on imported chicken, and as a result, large quantities of American and Brazilian chicken were legally imported into Suriname and some of that chicken was then smuggled into Guyana.

This 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 normal.

The glut lasted from the end of May 2018 to March 2019, the largest glut of chickens Guyana had ever experienced.
In June 2019, the Suriname authorities increased their duty on imported chicken from five per cent to 40 per cent which negatively affected the chicken smuggling business.

The enforcement department of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) also stepped up their campaign against the smuggled chicken and it appeared that their efforts resulted in large seizures of chicken, brought in illegally from across the border.

In March of this year, the Guyana poultry farmers were found to have excess chicken in their pens that were between 12 and 15 weeks old when the normal grow out period was six weeks.

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 required the pens to be empty.

“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. Since the problem has been rectified; this problem is unlikely to re-occur,” said the association.

The association assured Guyanese that chicken supplies would return to normalcy by mid-August.

Some consumers told this publication that the price for chicken has been raised from about $340 per pound to over $400 per pound.

The Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), in a recent Facebook post, had said that records show that there has been a reduction in the number of cases of hatching eggs being imported when compared to 2018.

Some farmers have also been complaining of reduced growth rates and higher mortality, which may also be attributed to the reduction of poultry meat on the market.

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 growing out time for the chickens.

“They have also assured that they are able to maintain supply to their major customers,” the GLDA said.