January 9, 2023

 

Barbados' small-scale poultry farmers oppose extension of social compact

 

 

 

Small-scale poultry farmers in Barbados are taking a stand against any notion of extending a social compact that the country's government has designed to give consumers an ease from rising food prices.

  

On January 7, during a meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, the farmers voted that the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers' Association (BEPPA) should not enter into such an agreement with the government again.

 

Farmer Robert Tudor made the proposition, which was seconded by Hugh Weekes.

 

Last year, the management of the island's largest producers of poultry and eggs — Chickmont Foods Ltd, Star Chick Ltd and Fasosn Food Inc (Amir Chicken) — signed into the compact, agreeing that from August 19 to January 31 they would sell their offerings at 10% less.

 

Small-scale farmers did not have a say in the negotiations, and they said they were compromised by the arrangement as retailers, restaurants, supermarkets and other businesses are demanding that they offer their products at the same prices as the larger players.

 

Small-scale farmers represent more than 40% of the poultry industry and this had a detrimental impact on their enterprises.

 

Many of them could not sustain selling their products for 10% less and either scaled down their operations significantly or stopped producing completely.

 

This then disrupted the business of the island's main hatchery — Gale's Agro Products Ltd — with scores of small farmers canceling orders and the hatchery losing thousands of dollars worth in sales. They also had to euthanise thousands of birds as a result.

 

In the meeting, officials reported that Gale's had to cut back on its overseas supply of hatching eggs and dropped operations by 20%.

 

"We have had an extremely challenging period during the [height of] COVID-19 and that compact has impacted on us significantly," said BEPPA president and chairman of the meeting Stephen Layne. "We need to recover the poultry industry, both eggs and chicken. We should be looking at having a price increase far less [getting into a compact]. I am subscribing to the protection and growth of the poultry sector so we cannot afford it."

 

- Barbados Today