The increasing importation of cheap frozen chicken for the local market, coupled with the lack of adequate support to the industry in the country, has led to about 80 per cent of poultry farmers’ businesses shutting down, with the rest struggling to cope.
According to an EU data on chicken exports, Ghana has been the leading importer of chicken in Africa for the past five years, with 227,903 tonnes imported in 2021.
In line with that, the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) has made a passionate appeal to the government and other stakeholders to intervene to save the sector from total collapse.
The Chairman of the association, Victor Oppong Adjei, who made the appeal, said apart from the high cost of inputs, unfair competition from importers of chicken had deprived the country of over one million jobs along the value chain.
Making reference to data from the EU, he said the country imported 683,709 tonnes of frozen chicken in 2021 from Brazil, the US and the EU, translating into 570 million birds.
“If we take it that one bird even sells at a dollar, it means about $600m was used to import chicken in 2021,” Mr Adjei said, adding that the situation was “frustrating and distressing”.
“Some of our poultry farmers have even lost their lives because of what we are going through.
“We, therefore, want to use this platform to passionately appeal to the government, the Council of State, the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC) and other key stakeholders to act urgently to save this industry,” he stressed.
Source: myghanadaily
