Ghana's poultry industry is heading for collapse
Poultry imports from Ghana are going to be around 340,000 tonnes this year due to disruptions created by the coronavirus outbreak in the supply chain. According to the Ghanaweb agency, the Vice-Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers, Napoleon Agyemang Oduro has said the industry needs massive funding and incentives from the government to save and sustain the country’s poultry industry. The industry has lost its significance in the domestic market in the last two decades, going down from 60% market share to almost 15%.
According to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana’s poultry meat demand amounts to 400,000 tonnes per year. Domestic production stands at around 57,870 tonnes, the rest of the volume coming from imports. Only in chicken meat, Ghana imports over 300,000 tonnes worth $374 million. To cover the demand in the domestic market, local producers must add 5 million birds per week.
A modern approach and large scale investment are needed to increase the production, as Napoleon Agyemang Oduro says: "There is a need for massive investment through the value chained. We have to do strategic investment into processing and production. Because of the quantity of chicken we’re talking about, they can’t be hand-fed. We need to use machine and equipment in the process".
So far, banks have hesitated in supporting the Ghanian poultry industry due to increased competition from foreing suppliers and a governmental program launched a few years ago has failed to increase the market share at 40% for local producers.
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