Stakeholders in the local poultry industry have indicated that there has been a surge in patronage as the coronavirus pandemic and closure of borders have limited the inflow of imported chicken.
The pandemic has had effects on businesses especially negative ones for those who import to boost their productivity but for some businesses that were overwhelmed by competition from imported products such as local poultry farmers, are making gains.
According to them, they have seen an increase in demand for local poultry, due to limited importation since the closure of borders have reduced the over reliance on imported chicken.
In recent times, some poultry farmers have complained about low patronage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the period of the three-week partial lock-down.
While some egg sellers in the Bono Region complained about their products wasting away due to low patronage, imported chicken has stunted the growth of the local poultry industry as it contributes nearly 90 per cent of poultry consumed in Ghana.
Local farmers hold that, government’s limited support and other factors such as high cost of feed have reduced their capacity to meet national demand. Hence, they are calling on government to help maintain the change in demand as people patronize more of local chicken.
Meanwhile, poultry farmers have consistently called for the right support to get imported chicken banned though government has indicated its commitment to increase local poultry production and eventually ban importation by the year 2023.
According to reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and international news agency, Reuters, the coronavirus pandemic has taken a huge toll on workers at U.S. meat and poultry processing facilities, with more than 17,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 100 deaths in April and May.
This has affected the export of poultry from the US to countries like Ghana, one of its major export markets.
Speaking for local poultry farmers, the President of the Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association, Michael Nyarko-Ampem, indicated that there has been a slight increase in the consumption of local poultry products due to this situation.
“Fortunately, we are getting orders from restaurants and various eateries. Also, markets are functioning so our poultry is gaining momentum. People are beginning to appreciate the local poultry more compared to the imported ones. This is due to the Covid-19 scare and the low importation of the product. Business has improved tremendously.”
He however says they would require government support to boost production to meet the growing demand if the pandemic continues for a while longer.
“We do not have enough day-old chicks which is a major challenge for us. The market has been created, but the day-old chicks to fill that space is not there. We hope government will find a way to bring in day old chicks to keep our industry running.”
