A top poultry farmer in Grenada has called on the Congress government to look into reports that preferential treatment might be given to a new supermarket over others operating on the island.
According to the farmer, it appears that the new establishment might be in violation of the import regime to bring in whole chicken into Grenada.
He said that he visited the supermarket in the south of the island and “physically saw the specimen” of the whole chicken in the refrigerator at the business place being sold at $7.00 a lb. and fetching the average price of $65.00 per unit.
He spoke of calling the Ministry of Agriculture to ascertain the status of the imported whole chicken but no one is aware of any import licence being granted by the Ministry of Trade to the establishment to bring in the product whether “frozen or otherwise.”
“For something like that to happen – it must go through Agriculture,” he told THE NEW TODAY.
The poultry farmer said he was told by an official of the Ministry of Agriculture that a permit was requested by another supermarket to bring in whole chicken due to a shortage on the island but it was denied.
The Ministry of Agriculture agreed to make some inquiries to verify the situation (with the imported whole chicken seen at the new supermarket),” he said.
Under former Agriculture Minister George Brizan in the 1990-95 Congress government, a regime was put in place to protect local poultry producers in the area of whole chicken.
The poultry farmer indicated that the whole chicken business “is exclusively for the local poultry producers”.
He said that if an establishment is importing whole chicken without approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and then obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Trade then it raises some very serious questions.
“I think that speaks to a bigger picture right there now – from the Customs side, from the paperwork that is lodged with Customs as to what is being imported, if it has been declared and if it has been allowed in by Customs without any red flags then all of these are things which show a breakdown….”, he added.
The poultry farmer also raised the prospects of whether the importer of the whole chicken “might have sneaked it in a container or whatever it is – just goes to show that Customs needs to be a bit more thorough in some ways.”
“Unless an official document can be presented as to why they have it on their shelves, we are all stumped and waiting for answers,” he said.
THE NEW TODAY contacted the Ministry of Trade on Thursday and was told that everyone who can provide an answer to the issue was in a meeting including the Permanent Secretary.
The poultry farmer acknowledged that there is a shortage of whole chicken on the island and indicated that in such a situation an importer can apply to the Ministry of Trade through the Ministry of Agriculture to get a licence for a limited period of time to import the restricted item.
“Once that exists legitimately …. the (import) agency is supposed to go to the Ministry of Agriculture who verifies that there is a shortage and will instruct the Ministry of Trade to allow a certain quota for a particular period of time to allow them to bring in the restricted item. The Ministry of Trade under consideration will make a decision.
“The licence is for a specific period of time and for a specific amount of whole chicken to be imported into the country. The quantity is also specified on the licence. That is set and enshrined in law”.
“If it is that it (the imported whole chicken at the supermarket) is coming without a Trade Licence from the Ministry of Trade then therefore you have something that is illegal that is happening.”
According to the poultry farmer, the shortages of whole chicken on the island goes back to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when a lot of poultry farmers became vulnerable and were forced to shut down some farms.
In addition, he said the situation is not being helped by the bird flu influenza that is affecting chicken worldwide.
He pointed out that the major producers of eggs like the United States, Canada, Britain, Europe and Africa that provide the eggs to go into the hatchery are badly hit by the Bird Flu disease.
He said there is no cure for the flu and once detected on a farm they will have to get rid of all of the birds within that flock.
“That (the flu) has become so rampant among the flock that over the past 2 years there has been a reduction in the production in the US and other parts of the world so there is a scarcity of the eggs itself,” he added.
In the case of Grenada, the Poultry farmer noted that the hatchery in Barbados often run into problems getting chicks exported to the island due to air transportation problems.
This, he said along with the bird flu disease have largely resulted “in a shortage of birds for the farmers in Grenada.”
According to the Poultry Farmer, a lot of his colleagues went financially broke during the Covid-19 period and just went out of business.
“It’s been very, very challenging for farmers,” he remarked.
The poultry farmer also touched on a problem faced by local producers from the established retail outlets like the supermarkets which have not been “very kind to farmers in terms of pricing.”
He said the price of imported items to help farmers with their production have increased dramatically but the local retailers are refusing to pay the poultry farmers the new price structure which in turn affects the cash flow of those involved in the industry.
He said that this situation has put a lot of farmers out of business as they cannot get their product sold at “a fair price” to help them reinvest in the business and to continue in operation.