October 2, 2013

Due to the current prices which are considered low, the Namib Poultry Industry (NPI) plans to increase its chicken prices from NAD40 (US$3.95) to NAD45 (US$4.45) for a 1.5 kilogramme broiler in two weeks.

Namib Mills managing director Ian Collard said that the main concern is the current pricing, which makes broiler production in both South Africa and Namibia uneconomical.

Collard said the chicken produced in accordance with world Cobb standards will increase by NAD6 (US$0.59) or more, depending on the pricing of the local retailer.

"We can only guide the prices but in the end the retailer decides on the price they want to place on their product," said Namib Mills spokesperson Ilena Peter.

NPI, which forms part of the Namib Mills Industry (MNI) employs 650 people and slaughters 50,000 chickens/day, amounting to one million chickens sold per month. However, despite these achievements, Collard said that competition from imported chicken from Brazil had created a tremendous strain on the industry.

He appealed to the government and consumers to give NPI a fair chance to start doing good business.

The price increase is expected to create food security through provision of chicken and increase local job creation with new opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by creating a platform for fresh chicken.

The company was awarded infant industry protection by government under a managed quota system on May 6 this year in an attempt to support local chicken production.