Poultry importation discourages banks from investing in local birds

The Greater Accra Regional president told GhanaWeb that the low funds available in the sector inhibit the growth of the sector.

She explained that poultry farming is a capital intensive market hence the need for enough funds.

But the financial institutions do not support the sector as they should due to the cheap imports from the international market.

She indicated that the low market for local poultry as compared to the foreign ones scares banks from investing.

“Foreign poultry is cheap because they have the economy of scale to produce on a large scale. Their huge economic advantage makes them price at a low price to beat local prices. This makes Ghanaians consumes more foreign chicken than local ones.”

“On our side since our prices are high and it is not really a deliberate price raise, a lot of people do not consume our products make us have a small market. Banks are afraid of investing in our small market,” she added.

She entreated the government to ban the importation of poultry to Ghana.

In 2019, the Agric Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto said the government will ban poultry imports into the country in the next three years.

The government also plans to ban the importation of rice around the same time.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto said that the government is working tirelessly to “establish the local capacity” to meet demand.