Sri Lankan Egg, Broiler Output Up in 2013

SRI LANKA - The local poultry industry production capacity in Sri Lanka has expanded in 2013. The egg production increased by 33 per cent year on year to 1.942 million while chicken production expanded by 5.2 per cent to 144.540 metric tons.
calendar icon 4 June 2014
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The growth is attributed to various measures implemented by the government.

Daily News said that these include the increase in the price ceiling on branded chicken, tax concessions on capital equipment imports for production of chicken, promotion of investment in grandparent bird production and encouraging local inputs for feed production, said Yakooth Naleem Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bairaha Farms in the company’s annual report 2013/2014.

However the demand for chicken waned during the financial year due to a drop in purchasing power of average consumers. Stemming from the increased production which led to an oversupply coupled with the decline in demand the price of chicken dropped during the year.

However the price of eggs increased from Rs. 11 per egg in 2012 to Rs. 14 per egg in 2013,reflecting the increase in cost of production. The current per capita consumption of chicken and eggs in Sri Lanka is around 7.2 kilograms and 97 eggs respectively.

The high cost of raw materials for poultry feeds, prices of certain raw materials are manipulated by intermediaries by hoarding are some of the major challenges faced by the industry players. Price control is another challenge faced by the industry.

The local poultry meat sales are regulated by the Consumer Affairs Authority of Sri Lanka. A maximum retail price of Rs. 380 per kilogram has been set for whole broiler packeted chicken meat. Due to the price ceiling, poultry producers are trying to pass on the impact of escalating feed and other input costs to customers and this has adversely affected the industry's overall profitability.

Michael Priestley

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