By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
ESCALATING prices of poultry products and stockfeed will be contained following the suspension of the issuance of export permits by the Government for day-old chicks, ingredients and stockfeed.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock on July 26 suspended the issuance of the export permits for stockfeed, its ingredients and day-old chicks.
This will stabilise the local production, contain the rising price of poultry products and cater for the local demand, says Policy Monitoring and Research Centre (PMRC) Head of Research and Analysis, Sydney Mwamba.
Mr Mwamba said stable prices of the poultry products would positively influence and maintain the strides achieved by the Government towards ending hunger and ensuring increased access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food for vulnerable groups.
“PMRC is elated by this move, as it is expected to have positive implications on the growth of the poultry value chain and survival of smallholder poultry farmers.
“The move also incentivises the citizenry to invest in stock-feed production especially when the country recorded increased production of soya bean in the 2020/2021 agricultural farming season, a raw material critical in feedstock production,” he said in an interview.
There was a notable increase in the price of a day-old chick from about K5 to K16, while stock-feed is now fetching between K300 and K500-for a 50-kilogramme bag, depending on the brand and company.
The increase resulted in the escalation of broiler chicken from K45 to the current range of K80 to K130 on the market
The move, Mr Mwamba stated, would also address the deficit currently being experienced on the Zambian market.
He said PMRC encouraged Government to continue monitoring the performance of the livestock sector including its backward and forward linkages to promote sustainable growth of the poultry industry in Zambia.
“The sharp increase in price has affected the supply side, resulting into failure to meet local product demand.
“In the long term, the situation if left unattended poses a huge risk on the nutritional status of citizens as poultry have for long been the cheapest source of animal protein for the majority of citizens,” Mr Mwamba said.
