THE Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has once again sent a stern warning to the Office of the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw their “reckless” accusations against the government, or else legal action will follow.

In a press release, the Ministry called out the opposition for failing to acknowledge the steps being taken by the government to address the inadequate supply of chicken and instead cooking up bold accusations.

The MOA firmly remarked that the government made a decision for the temporary importation of chicken following inadequate supply over recent months.

“The Opposition having failed to recognise efforts by the Government of Guyana to cushion consumers from the inevitability of inflated prices resulting from inadequate supply, reverted to falsely accusing the Ministry and senior officials of being involved in the smuggling of chicken,” the release read.

Deeming it a “blatant” attempt by the opposition to “manufacture” a scandal, the ministry reiterated its condemnation of those statements, which are “baseless, reckless, and libelous.”

Furthermore, speaking more on the decision to import chicken within the recent months, the MOA said most Caribbean countries are also affected by a shortfall in production, which is primarily because of challenges that resulted from Inclusion Body Hepatitis (IBH) and increased temperatures and humidity over the last few months; conditions that are not ideal for broiler production.

It was said that the temporary importation was recommended by the National Poultry Association and the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) in collaboration with the MOA and was made public in June of this year.

“On December 1, 2023, having passed the requirements at the port of entry at Molsen Creek, two trucks bearing license plate numbers GAE 5137 and GAE 6041, which were transporting 898 boxes and 550 boxes of chicken, respectively, totalling some 58,000 pounds, were cleared by an on duty customs officers attached to the Guyana Revenue Authority at Molsen Creek,” the release read.

Moreover, the essentiality of the logistical aspect of the process was highlighted. It was facilitated by the Ministry’s New Guyana Marketing Corporation, which catered for and included the outsourcing of transportation services.

The MOA then went on to say: “This temporary initiative to import chicken taken by the Government of Guyana is demonstrative of it acting in a responsible manner cognisant of the negative impact of the inadequate supply and inflated prices. This was a deliberate effort to protect consumers.”

In an article published by News Source last July, Minister Zulfikar Mustapha explained that the Ministry through the New GMC was purchasing the chicken and selling it to farmers, who would then retail it to consumers.

“We started to bring in some because with the hepatitis that they had, they had some issues. So, the GMC is selling it back to the farmers, who normally sell those chickens, so that the effect would not change. For example, if you were a poultry farmer, and you had issues with the disease, and your production level dropped, we will give you the chicken like about $265-$290 per pound, and you can retail it back, so, the price will remain the same, and you as a poultry farmer will not feel the effect that you are losing production,” the Agriculture Minister explained.