Whenever the issue of what is widely believed to be the importation of foods into the Caribbean that are either readily available in some territories but which are overlooked in favour of extra-regional sources, the issue of chicken imports into the region is never far away. Back in July last year, President Irfaan Ali effected a public pat on the back from the Caribbean Private Sector Organization (CPSO) after the President had made the announcement that Guyana would be lowering the financing costs for investment in the local industry, repeating, in the process, the oft-stated comment that the regional poultry industry can, through its own production efforts, re-direct the estimated $US149 million dollars spent on importing chicken from the United States, annually.