The supply of chicken on the market remains tight and price fluctuations have been reported by a vendor at the Stabroek Market.
Stabroek News on Tuesday spoke to a representative from the Massy Store located in Ruimveldt, the Bounty Supermarket and a vendor from the Stabroek market on the price per pound of chicken and how the prices have increased over the last month.
Seelwatie Sukool, a 51-year-old meat vendor of Stabroek Market told the Stabroek News that she buys whole chicken from different suppliers since chicken is scarce on the market. “I changed suppliers steady because the supply I would buy from, for example Mohammed’s Farm [Royal Chicken] will not have enough chicken to supply me to resell, so I will have to go out to different people and buy because one supplier can’t supply me.”
She explained that there isn’t a standard price because the suppliers she buys from do not have a fixed price that she can settle for. She is currently selling her chicken at $560 per pound.
Sukool disclosed however, that the price could fluctuate between $560 and $600 per pound. She noted that over the past month, the price per pound of chicken was between $560 and $600, but in May of this year, the price per pound of chicken was $500.
Stabroek News visited the Massy store located in Ruimveldt, Georgetown, to see what their prices were like, and spoke to the store supervisor, Kevin Singh who said that the price per 1.674 kilogrammes (kg) of chicken remains at $1,530 for now. He related that Massy would only increase its chicken prices if their suppliers increased their prices. The Massy store sells both Royal Chicken and Bounty Chicken.
Singh emphasised that there was a slight increase in the chicken price in March of this year by the suppliers of Royal Chicken, hence the increase to $1,530 per 1.674 kg, but over the last month the price per 1.674 kg has not changed. The price in March was $1,450.
Regarding the Bounty Chicken, he noted that the price per 1.674 kg is $1560 now and has been the same for over the last month. Singh did confirm, however, that in May, the price per kg of the Bounty chicken was cheaper by a $100. He disclosed that currently, Massy is out of whole Bounty chicken.
Managing Director of Bounty Farms Ltd, and poultry industry representative, David Fernandes, had acknowledged in a recent interview with the Stabroek News that there is a shortage of chicken which has caused supermarket prices to rise by an average of five per cent nationwide. He explained that the shortage stemmed from a combination of factors including increased consumer demand, ongoing disease challenges and disruptions in international supply chains.
On Tuesday, speaking with this newspaper again, he noted that the prices per kg for the Bounty chicken have increased by five per cent since July 1.
The closure earlier this year of Deonarine Arjune’s Enterprise, a major poultry producer in Berbice, Corentyne was also a factor. “The industry has undergone changes that have deeply affected us, resulting in the loss of valuable farmers,” lamented Fernandes.
Regarding the price increases, he clarified that they average around five per cent, driven by the shortage and compounded by rising freight costs and wages. Interestingly, he noted that fast-food prices have increased more significantly than chicken prices.
Looking ahead, Fernandes discussed initiatives such as the soy and corn project, slated for completion by 2026, aimed at enhancing self-sufficiency in livestock feed production. This initiative seeks to reduce dependency on imports and strengthen industry resilience. He also praised governmental support for projects like the Kuru Kuru poultry initiative, which aims to tackle current industry challenges and benefits from anticipated reductions in electricity costs through the Gas-to-Energy Project.
