Sri Lankan poultry sector still faces crisis

 

 

Continuing high feed ingredient prices are reducing domestic production of poultry meat and eggs, and putting up consumer prices in Sri Lanka.

 

The threat to import poultry products due to a shortage of chicken and a steep rise in the price of eggs still remains with Livestock Development Minister, R.M.C.B. Ratnayake warning that he is monitoring the situation.

 

According to industry sources, the main reason for the current situation is a shortage and high price of corn, which makes up 50% of the poultry feed primarily due to an interest group buying up much of the previous harvest.

 

Ratnayake said the department has taken a decision to allow the import of as much as 40,000 tonnes of corn and permits have already been issued for the import of 20,000 tonnes, but much of this has yet to be shipped into the country.

 

The industry which has already seen about 40% of the producers going out of business due to the situation charged that the laborious bureaucracy that they had to go through to obtain a permit takes about six weeks. There is also the problem of import taxes coming to as much as 70% of the landed price of the commodity when it reaches Colombo.

 

However, Ratnayake said that since increasing the duty on imported corn from 25% to 35%, the local production of the commodity went up from 20% of the country's requirement to 60%.

 

Industry sources have warned that any hasty decision to import eggs and chicken will destroy the remaining local industry made up of about 70,000 farmer families and other commercial producers.

 

They also warned that Sri Lanka which is the only country in the region so far spared of bird flu would only be inviting the deadly disease with hasty imports.

 

Meanwhile, there has been a drop in the prices of eggs this week after the peak that was reached last week.

 

D.J. Madawala, the owner of Lanka Egg Centre the largest wholesale egg distributor in the country said that the price had dropped to Rp12.50 (US$ 0.27) per white egg and Rp13.00 (US$0.28) per brown egg from the previous week's Rp14.50 (US$0.31) and Rp15.00 (US$0.32), respectively.

 

However, the next local corn harvest is expected to be somewhat disappointing due to late cultivation. The harvest, normally due in mid-February, is not expected before March.