In the past two months, chicken retailers have complained of being unable to source chicken in large quantities for their businesses. The situation will not get better with the Christmas season upon us.
Didco, the largest chicken producer in the country with a capacity of 1.5 million pounds of chicken per month, has just secured a licence to import one million pounds of leg quarters. Reports indicate that half of this amount may already be on the company's wharf.
Head of the Guyana Poultry Producers Association (GPPA), Lloyd Fung-a-Fatt says the members of the GPPA are producing at their normal levels and have even upped by 20% to cater for the Christmas demand. The GPPA members, he says, usually supply 50% of the country's demand for chicken while Didco (not a member) supplies the other 50%.
For the producers under the GPPA, their current production levels cater only for existing customers and they would be unable to immediately meet excess demand as a result of supply constraints from other producers.
Didco's marketing officer, Narisha Ali, was recently quoted as saying that persons would be unable to secure 5,000 pounds of chicken unless they are a regular customer of that company and reports have since indicated that even regular customers would have to wait. "Even 500 pounds is not available. The most chicken available on demand is 50 pounds," Ali told Stabroek News.
Yet, on November 26th, hours after the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir, signed two licences for chicken imports, including the one from Didco for one million pounds of leg quarters, the minister insisted that there was no current shortfall in chicken supply.
The minister says a survey done by the Ministry of Agriculture at Cabinet's behest indicates that there will be an 8% shortfall for the Christmas season. This he quantifies as a total of 500 000 pounds and he says the ministry is willing to grant licences to anyone who wishes to import chicken.
The minister during a recent tour of markets and supermarkets also challenged statements made by retailers that there is a shortage of chicken and that higher prices were being quoted to them.
Surely the situation does not gel. Cabinet obviously is concerned that there is a problem with chicken supply to have asked the Ministry to conduct an assessment. Additionally, Didco, whose proprietor a month ago said there would be adequate chicken supplies and denied reports of a shortage, has turned around and applied for a licence to import one million pounds of chicken.
Why is Minister Nadir reluctant to admit that there is a current problem with chicken supplies and that the problem in the market may be at Didco's end?
Strangely enough, a senior Didco official, Tarchand Ramgoolam, has denied to this newspaper that a licence was applied for and that an order was placed for the chicken already. Why the cover up?
The government's decision, strongly supported by Nadir, to impose a 100% tax and a 10% duty on chicken imports to allow local producers, especially Didco, a former chicken importer, to become self-sufficient in poultry production is not currently under question. The issue is whether there are adequate supplies of chicken on the market. But after a year of having imposed the higher taxes, it is time the government seeks to find out whether that policy is having the desired effect/benefit and whether the net welfare effect continues to be positive. There are concerns that the tax has taken away from the poor a cheaper source of chicken but on the other hand, it is a break for producers.
The current chicken shortage could be a result of a production problem in the other 50% of the market, which is controlled by Didco. The minister should clarify the situation.