The Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association (BEPPA) does not believe consumers benefited from its members selling poultry at a ten per cent discount over the past five months.
In fact, president Stephen Layne told Barbados TODAY that it appeared that supermarkets and other retailers benefited more from the price reduction than those for whom it was intended.
He said this was one of the two main reasons BEPPA believed the Social Compact signed with the Government last July – under which the private sector agreed to limit their markup on certain goods and produce from August 19, 2022, to January 31, 2023, to reduce prices – was unsuccessful.
“We thought that we could have made an impact on the consumers that were least able to purchase, but most of those savings would have gone into the supermarkets . . . . My price check on that is that . . . I wasn’t seeing any significant [difference in the] markup . . . so that was a major concern to us,” he said.
Layne said the other reason the compact was a failure was that it jeopardised the sustainability of the sector. He said if the six-month agreement was renewed or extended it would lead to the collapse of the poultry industry.
“The compact that we entered didn’t work and it did not make the poultry industry more secure so we need to look at what we can do in terms of if there are special areas that we can have a look at pricing. But it cannot be one where you are compelled to make a discount on whole chicken and things like that . . . . If we end up without a poultry sector, that is not going to help the food security of the country; it certainly would not help the thousands of personnel [employed in the industry]. We are not only talking about poultry farmers or hatcheries or processing plants, we are talking about all the people in the ancillary services that go into making this industry work. We need to secure that.
“We can’t afford to have thousands of people going home or putting down poultry plants – as has happened – that have cost thousands of dollars to construct and leaving them there idle. We need to be productive and look at different ways of expanding the industry so that we bring more value to the economy and I think it is very important that we start to look at the industry in a valued way through either processing or value-added products that we can add more value and therefore more revenue to the country.”
Last Saturday, during a BEPPA meeting, 26 out of the 27 small farmers present voted against going into a new compact.
The farmers complained they were not part of the negotiations for the existing compact, which expires on January 31, and stressed that while only the three major producers – Chickmont Foods Ltd, Star Chick Ltd and Fasosn Food Inc (Amir Chicken) – signed on to the agreement, the smaller producers were being compromised as retailers, restaurants, supermarkets and other businesses were demanding that they offer their products at the same prices as the larger players.
When contacted, managing director of Star Chick Wendell Clarke said he stood with the majority of the poultry association membership.
“There was a meeting that got the consensus of most of the membership and the board has to follow the membership. I guess the reason why they had that meeting was to make sure they got proper feedback from the general membership rather than the board itself making the decision. So, if the general members said that then the board has to follow what the members are saying. So that is where I stand; I have to go with the majority,” he said.
Asked if he was impacted by the compact, he said: “Of course. You had a reduction in your margins, then that was saddled with complications with feed and whatnot. The majority of the industry was impacted”.
Chairman of Chickmont Foods Peter Defreitas commented that the decision on renewing the compact was not up to him.
“I am not involved in those decisions so whether I agree with it or not, the government of the day will decide what they want to do,” he said.
However, Defreitas contended that the arrangement helped the most vulnerable in society.
“People are suffering and when the Prime Minister installed it, I was the first person to support it. I thought what she was doing was a good deed, helping people at the bottom of the economic ladder.”
Meanwhile, executive director of Fasons Foods Amir Juman only said: “It was not as difficult as the heightened periods of the COVID-19 experience.”
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
