We’ll keep price under $4

Nutrimix Feeds Ltd recently announced its decision to increase the price of its chicken to $5 as a result of escalating costs to the industry. However, the country’s other major poultry producing companies are standing by their decision not to increase their prices, adhering to an agreement made with the Minister of Consumer Affairs last year. Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Robin Phillips, marketing director of Arawak and Company Ltd, revealed that he was awaiting feedback from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs before making any decisions about increasing their prices. Arawak, he said, is one of the country’s largest poultry producers, producing under 20 million heads of chicken per year.

He said that the main consensus among poultry producers was that a price increase was justified due to the increase in the price of grain on the international market, in addition to a number of other expenses which the industry faces. However, nothing would be done without hearing from the Ministry, he stated.Geoffrey Rostant, poultry manager, Mastermix Ltd, a small producer, shared the same sentiments. He said, “we remain committed to whatever decision was made before. We are trying to work with the Ministry and the consuming public.” At Mastermix, chickens are presently being sold at between $3.95 and $3.99 per pound.

Responding to Consumer Affairs Minister Danny Montano’s plan to remove the surcharge on imported chicken, opening up the local market to foreign competition, both men agree that this would be unfair to the producers who did not increase their prices. “We would prefer that nothing is done as a reaction to one producer’s action,” said Phillips. “There are four producers in the country and consumers have a choice to buy from the other three which have not increased their prices,” he added. “It is not a case of consumers not having a choice.” Rostant expressed his belief that such an outcome would be “unfortunate.” “This would mean that everyone is getting beaten with the same guava whip,” he maintained. “We should not all be tarnished for one company’s decisions.” “Now that the sugar industry has scaled down, poultry has become a significant contributor to GDP. Why kill it because one individual has done something the Ministry does not like.” “It is not fair to the rest of us,” he said.