The Kenya Poultry Breeders Association has decried an influx of poultry products from neighbouring Uganda stating that it puts the efforts of Kenyan poultry farmers in peril.
The association’s chairman Humphrey Mbugua in a letter dated March 18, 2020, addressed to Livestock principal secretary Henry Kimutai said that scores of poultry farmers in Kenya are on the verge of doing away with their ventures.
Mbugua while calling for immediate intervention noted that transhipment of cheap poultry imports from Uganda continues to deal a blow to Kenyan poultry farmers.
“We hereby urge the government to consider the plight of Kenyan farmers, employees and the economy as a whole by restricting chicken imports from Uganda as this is going to destabilise the industry and economy as a whole,” said Mr Mbugua according to Business Daily.
The Kenya Poultry Breeders Association chair cited that processed chicken from Uganda is cheaper thereby flooding the market leaving Kenyan counterparts with no market. Uganda imports from 25 to 40 tonnes of processed chicken every week.
“These challenges have made it hard for our farmers to grow chicken because they cannot compete with ‘Ugandan’ imports, because they are way cheaper than locally produced chicken,” he remarked.
Mr Mbugua added that closure of venture by Kenyan poultry farmers means loss of revenue for the government and loss of jobs.
He opined that several local farmers have abandoned the trade citing losses and frustration due to increased cost of production occasioned by high prices of animal feeds and cheaper imports.
Kenya’s animal feed take up to 70 percent of poultry production.
The Livestock PS is yet to respond to the association’s grievances.