What chicken price is right?

Local chicken producers are calling on Minister of Consumer Affairs, Camille Robinson-Regis, to clarify what she considers to be an “acceptable price” for chicken. This cry comes after Government gave poultry farmers exactly one week to reduce their prices to an “acceptable level” or risk the removal of the surcharge of imported chicken. This surcharge, which currently stands at 88 per cent, protects the local industry from being overrun by leg quarters, namely drumsticks and thigh parts, which are not popular in the United States. Without it, local producers will be unable to compete with imported chicken, which would be available at a much cheaper price.
 
It is speculated that a removal of this surcharge could destroy the industry which employs some 10,000 persons. Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Marketing Director of Arawak and Supermix, Robin Phillips, stated that only a few producers were to blame for overcharging customers. Some producers, including Arawak, Nutrimix and Warnerville Grain Mills Ltd, have already reduced their prices. This week, Phillips said, the price of  live chicken stands between $3.50 to $4.40 per pound, while processed chicken is being priced at $5.75 per pound. “The Minister needs to clarify what an acceptable price is,” he maintained. He revealed that the Poultry Association was seeking a meeting with Minister Robinson-Regis and Minister of Agriculture, John Rahael, to come to an “amicable solution” to the problem. “There has been some variation in price,” he admitted, “but we would prefer that action not be taken against the entire industry, but rather against those who are responsible for the overcharging.” Attempts to reach a representative of Nutrimix Feeds Limited proved futile.