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Poultry industry: Severe shortages in next six months

02 Oct 2022

  Sri Lanka is at risk of facing a severe shortage in eggs and chicken within the next six months, with a majority of the hatcheries in the country having stopped operations due to high production costs, industry experts warn. All Island Poultry Association Head Ajith Gunasekara said that the recently-introduced price ceiling for eggs was the main cause of the problem.  “The price ceiling caps the maximum price of eggs at Rs. 43-45 when production cost for a single egg is Rs. 55. This has resulted in hatchery owners giving up on producing more chickens as the industry is collapsing.” He asserted that due to the price of eggs being kept down artificially, a serious shortage would occur in the coming months. “Only around five out of the 12 hatcheries are operating and even those will soon stop as they cannot afford production costs. The country will experience shortages in both chicken meat and eggs because of this and the reluctance of breeders to import new mother hens.” He said if the price ceiling was lifted, the problem could be resolved: “If the gazette notification on the price cap is done away with, then we can sell eggs at the proper price and at least cover our production costs. We have urged the Government to do so, but it is not interested.” – By Skandha Gunasekara  


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