May 31, 2017

Ghana broiler meat production to meet only 25% of demand

Ghana's broiler meat production in marketing year 2017 is forecast to increase 6% year-on-year to 35,000 tonnes, but this will supply only less than 25% of demand.

According to the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) "2017 Ghana Poultry Report", imports are expected to increase by 14,000 tonnes to 158,000 tonnes due to meet rising demand.

Government statistics for 2015 showed that the total poultry meat production (including broiler meat and spent layers) was 54,000 tonnes, of which around 33,000 tonnes consisted of broiler meat, which represented 60% of total poultry meat production.

Poultry producers have not found broiler production to be profitable, with rising feeds costs representing 60-70% of overall production costs. The report noted that producers are unable to dispose broiler birds at six weeks and must continue to feed them over 10 weeks, which further increases feed and medication costs.

"High energy cost also affects overall production. With high production and energy costs, producing domestic broiler birds is becoming more uncompetitive compared to imported poultry products", the USDA report said.

The industry has found raising layers to be more profitable than raising broilers, and that there is minimal competition in marketing eggs.

Ghana's poultry imports mainly come from the US, Brazil and the EU. However, the US has captured over 40% of market share, while Brazil and the EU have 25% each.

The report said that while competition from Brazil and the EU has been increasing, the US poultry enjoys brand-loyalty advantage over them.

It should be noted, too, that US poultry exports to Ghana declined from an all-time high export value of $76 million in 2013 to just $41 million last year, due to the lack of transparency of obtaining import permits for poultry products and other technical barriers to trade.