February 22, 2013

China firm to focus on Kenya poultry market

China's Kuku Masters is working with a local establishment to tap into promising opportunities at national level in Kenya.

The firm, which will be the point man for Sichuan Emon Import and Export, said it planned to sell at least three egg incubators - which have a capacity of hatching 8,000 chicks every 21 days - to every county. The firm is eyeing co-operatives, youth and women groups that want to explore poultry farming at commercial level.

The co-founder of Kuku Masters, Raymond Njoroge, also said they are targeting individual farmers that are able to afford the initial cost for an incubator.

"The initial cost is high, but one can recoup their investments in a little over a year. And there is a market locally and even in the region as commercial production of poultry products has not caught on really well," he said.

The country's egg per capita consumption stands at 36 per year, against the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 182 per year

Other than incubators, Kuku Masters will be selling and serving equipment that are associated with poultry farming, including rice and corn threshers that prepare feed for chicken and feather plucking machines.

While increased production might meet result in adequacy in poultry products locally, there is also a risk of saturating the market, which might result in farmers getting little or no returns from their investments.

Njoroge noted that the limited knowledge on the benefits of consuming poultry products has hindered commercialising poultry.