–Agriculture Minister says prices for eggs, other poultry products to remain stable as festive season continues
AS shoppers and patrons speed up their preparations for Christmas, the Ministry of Agriculture has put in place systems to ensure no price surge of high-demand commodities like eggs and other poultry.
In most Guyanese households, Christmas celebrations are steeped in tradition, with families indulging in beloved staples such as black and fruit cakes, alongside savoury favourites like pepper pot and an assortment of meat dishes, including garlic pork.
As poultry products form a core component of many of these festive dishes, demand typically rises during this period, often resulting in price fluctuations or price gouging across the market.
“This holiday, I met with all the egg producers. They undertook that they will not increase the price for eggs,” Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, said in a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
Last week, prices for eggs began to fluctuate ranging from $1,500 to $2,500, but according to Mustapha, this was as a result of middlemen operations.
In response to this, the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) is offering competitive pricing with eggs being sold at $1,300 per tray.
He noted too that some producers have committed to sell directly at the local markets, offering more affordable prices.
“So, I’m putting some system in place now. GMC will break the stronghold the middlemen have, [as] some of those same producers, they will sell directly at the market.
“So, I’m hoping that we can maintain it between $1,300 to $1,500 because it stands now, GMC selling for $1,300, and we’ll try as much as possible to increase the outlets across the country so we can regulate back the prices,” Mustapha said.
Minister Mustapha noted similar arrangements are in place for other high-demand commodities during the festive season, noting that there is no shortage of eggs or other poultry products on the local market.
“There’s enough eggs in the country not to increase it [the price],” he said.
It was previously reported that Guyana is looking to boost its production of hatching eggs, as the country has set its sights on, and is tapping into, Caribbean markets to expand its local reach in not only becoming self-sufficient but meeting the demands of the region.
Construction has already begun to clear lands in Pakuri Village in Region Four (previously known as St Cuthbert’s Mission) to facilitate tunnel houses.
This project would be one of the largest of its kind in the country and will satisfy the demands of the local market and the local poultry producers.
In 2024, Guyana had tripled its hatching eggs production. Guyana had imported nearly 53 million eggs annually at a cost of over $350 million.
To reduce this dependency, the country launched a hatching egg production programme in 2023 with a private partnership, resulting in the production of 27,000 eggs last year at the broiler breeder facility on the East Bank corridor.