Poultry farmers lament poor sales ahead of Christmas

Correspondence from Eastern region

It appears most homes are likely to spend this yuletide without the usual chicken flavour.

Poultry meat remains one of the most preferred meats for the occasion but the situation this year may be different, the reason being that the astronomical prices of live birds are probably beyond the means of most people.

Increases in feed prices with a bag of poultry feed hovering around Ghc380 and the attendant hiking of the prices of poultry are gradually driving customers away.

A visit to some poultry farms and sales points in the Krobo area three days to the occasion revealed that patronage is extremely low compared to previous years.

With the average cost of the birds going for Ghc150, the prices appear to be on the high side and beyond the reach of many.

Admitting that the prices of the birds were on the high side, the farmers however say increases in the price of poultry feed and the subsequent increase in the price of chicken was affecting the patronage of live birds ahead of the Christmas period.

According to Dadematse Moses Agbertey, Dadematse (community leader) of Oborpah and a poultry farmer, this is the worst season during his 27 years in the poultry industry. He said most poultry farmers are even contemplating ending their poultry business. “This year is really bad, the business has deteriorated and we’ve decided that if this is how things will go then we’ll fold up,” he said.

He added that the farmers are forced to make these expenses in addition to the cost of labour, medication and water. “How much do you sell the birds to meet these costs?” he quizzed.

Asked how sales were going ahead of the Christmas he said, “Previously, we received a lot of calls two weeks to the occasion from sellers, businesses and individuals who come for large numbers but this year, nobody is calling or coming.

The dadematse blamed past and current governments for their failure to pay due attention to the poultry industry and fears that the situation if it persists this way could collapse the industry within the next two years.

Dadematse Moses Agbertey, also suggested that government creates a large cold store where farmers can slaughter and store the meat until buyers show up.

Adams Amiteye, also a poultry farmer at Asitey said farmers were sometimes forced to buy inferior feed for the birds as the quality feed is beyond the means of most poultry farmers.

Though he said some sellers contacted them for the fowls to sell and repay, most of them have been unable to return this year because they (sellers) defaulted in repaying these credits, leaving the farmers in huge debts.

According to him, he has so far sold less than 20 out of his 2000 birds with just a few days left to the commencement of the Christmas festivities, adding that he sold about 1000 fowls within same period in previous years as patrons ordered for poultry at least two weeks ahead of the yuletide.

The inability to sell the fowls means the farmers have no option but to continue to feed the birds at further cost to them.

GhanaWeb met Mr. Abraham Djaba who managed to get a fowl for Ghc150 after much bargaining. According to him, though the cost of the bird was too high he had no option but to buy. “Like he reduced the price for me, I’d like it but he said the price of the feed has gone up,” said the consumer.

For Mr. tetteyfio alex, a carpenter at odumase-krobo, buying a fowl to celebrate the yuletide is the last thing on his mind.

The farmers who say they are not after profit but to only to break even appealed to the Government to invest more money into the poultry sector.

The farmers also expressed regret that the layers were no longer producing enough eggs to offset their costs.

Adams Amiteye said his 500 layers which were expected to produce about fourteen crates of eggs a day are currently producing only three. He suspects that the poor quality of feed being fed them was the cause of the problem. “They are supposed to give us 14 crates everyday but due to the inferior feed they’ve stopped laying and its dropped to three crates,” he lamented

Some farmers who took loans from financial institutions to start the business have reportedly gone into hiding to escape from the creditors.