Agri Business

Lack of market, importation forcing poultry farms to lay off workers

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Natta Farms, Mr. Thomas Adom has expressed worry over the company’s decision to lay off forty (40) of its workers as a result  of excessive importation of foreign poultry products into the country.

According to the CEO, the company which initially had one hundred (100) permanent workers, has already been forced to lay off some twenty (20) of its workforce as a result of the high cost of operations and lack of potential market for the local poultry product.

Mr. Adom who expressed the sentiments on the Akuafo Sesen segment of the Rite Morning Ride recounted that the local poultry industry had an agreement with the previous government to supply forty percent of the total local poultry demands with the remaining sixty percent imported.

Despite the agreement, the Chief Executive Officer lamented about what he said is the habit of massive importation of poultry products being undertaken by the current government which he said is collapsing the local poultry industry.

Ghana’s frozen chicken imports jumped from 13,000 metric tons in 2000 to over 155,000 metric tons in 2011 costing $169 million.

Figures showed that in 2017, a total of over 135,000Mt (about 112 million birds) of frozen chicken was imported from European Union (EU), which is 76 per cent increase over the 2016 EU import.

The government is in the business of active importation of poultry products and this is leading to the collapse of the local poultry industry as our members are folding up, he regretted, adding that Natta Farms is not left out of the difficulties leading to the retrenchment of its work force.

Source; Prince Paul Amuzu / www.ritefmonline.org / princeamuzu667@gmail.com

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