Georgetown : Recently the demand for chicken increased drastically and local suppliers found themselves short of meeting the demand which lead to prices skyrocketing. To mitigate the situation, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce granted 18 licences valid up to January 2014 for importation of the poultry product.
“After careful consultations with the poultry association and the major stakeholders involved in the chicken industry, especially representatives of the farming community, we decided to issue permits for the importation of chicken to almost every person who applied,” Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (ag) Irfaan Ali told the media today.
“We are encouraging the large poultry producers, and small farmers, to step up production so we can control the market for the end of the year. Indeed our consumption of chicken has increased tremendously; we need to ensure production continues to increase to meet that level,” the Minister said.
Last month, the Ministry, through its Consumer Affairs Division continued to monitor the escalating prices for poultry on the local market.
The permits for the importation of chicken were granted at 100% duty and were given to traditional importers whose applications were pending. Those granted permission will be restricted to one or two containers, to be imported from Suriname and the United States.
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