August 17, 2023

Sri Lanka's Three Acre Farms boosts hatchery with parent chick imports amid rising poultry demand

Sri-Lanka's Three Acre Farms, a publicly listed poultry company, has taken the initiative to import parent day old chicks, enhancing its hatchery capabilities as demand for chicken and eggs experienced an upturn in Sri Lanka during the latter half of the year, Economy Next reported.

The previous year saw the detrimental effects of Sri Lanka's state intervention in business, particularly manifested through price controls imposed on eggs. This intervention took a toll on small layer chicken farms, resulting in multiple farms shutting down as escalating feed prices became a burden. The ensuing closure of these farms also triggered the culling of parent stock within hatcheries.

The diminished parent stock led to a shortage of day-old chicks (DOC) in the market, as farmers sought to cultivate layer chickens amidst falling feed costs. The rupee's appreciation from March facilitated lower import expenditures.

Three Acre Farms said that the demand for layer DOC also improved due to better prices for table eggs and the shortage of Layer DOCs in the market, due to reduced inputs by farmers during the first half of the last year.

This strategic move led to enhanced profitability for the company. The prompt import of Parent Stock Doc, combined with the firm's adept management of production levels, contributed to better profits despite elevated production costs linked to factors like feed prices, packaging materials, freight, and utility expenses.

As a reaction to egg price controls, a significant number of layer chicken flocks were culled by farmers. This action, in turn, compelled several hatcheries to cull parent and grandparent stock, particularly amidst the backdrop of soaring feed costs.

Additionally, the initial quarter of the year witnessed farmers scaling down broiler production due to the burden of high feed prices. This reduction in production during the first half of the year subsequently led to a shortfall in the latter half.

The second part of the year also saw a revival in the tourism sector—a factor often associated with driving poultry demand.

-      Economy Next