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NewsDay

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We will meet demand, local poultry producers assure customers

Business
The poultry industry in the Matabeleland region is stable with local producers now able to meet demand, an official has said.

The poultry industry in the Matabeleland region is stable with local producers now able to meet demand, an official has said. BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

Zimbabwe Poultry Farmers’ Association chairman George Nare told NewsDay that local producers were now capable of meeting demand and there was no need for imports.

CHICKENS 2

“We won’t have shortage of day-old chicks again (and) prices of day-old chicks have gone down by almost 30%. We are not going to talk about shortage of chicken anymore. Demand is good and what producers need to do is to look for the market and secure it,” Nare said.

According to Nare, producer prices at the moment were hovering around $3,50 a kilogramme.

Nare said the poultry industry was at a recovering stage adding that stock feeds remained a problem.

In July, players in the poultry industry in Zimbabwe cut chicken prices by 23%, with indications that the market was flooded by cheap imports. Zimbabwe imports most of its chicken from South Africa and Brazil.

According to the Zimbabwe Poultry Association, while the sector was operating under a harsh economic environment underlined by cash shortages, cheap imports from South Africa and Brazil flooded the market.

In 2012, the government imposed a duty of $1,50 per kg on imported chicken, but this has done little to curb the inflows.

Last year, government introduced a law requiring importers of selected agricultural products, including poultry and sugar, to apply for licences in a bid to control imports flooding the local market.