Local NewsNews Feed rival by Emmanuel Joseph 24/06/2023 written by Emmanuel Joseph Updated by Asminnie Moonsammy 24/06/2023 3 min read A+A- Reset The new livestock and poultry feed plant to open year-end at Coral Ridge, Christ Church. (Photo by Emmanuel Joseph) Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 1.2K New player to compete with Pinnacle to drive down costsĀ By Emmanuel Joseph A new $22 million state-of-the-art livestock and poultry feed manufacturing plant, designed to help bring down the cost of poultry and other meat, will open in Barbados by the end of the year. An American company has joined forces with a French firm to build the plant at Coral Ridge, Christ Church and compete with Pinnacle Feeds, the islandās sole feed manufacturer, Barbados TODAY has been reliably informed. The intention is to drive down the cost of production for small farmers who, in turn, are expected to pass on the savings to Barbadians. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir disclosed to Barbados TODAY on Friday that he had visited the site where construction is going āfull steam aheadā. You Might Be Interested In Crystal Beckles-Holder, 2nd runner up in regional competition GUYANA: Body of child found after gold mine collapses Barbadians asked to help with return tickets for Haitians Although not disclosing any information about the companies involved in the project, he said: āI did a site visit and it is looking good and everything is going according to plan. This [plant]ā¦will use a lot of technology; it is a very modern facility so you will get efficiency gains and I would hope that they will translate into savings.ā āThat is my hope because it is high-tech, and certainly there will be a lot of efficiency gains, efficiency management; and the deliverables, given the use of technology, should bring about savings. That is my hope. I canāt speak for the owners,ā Weir added. A source intimately involved with the project told Barbados TODAY the feed manufacturing enterprise will be up and running by year-end and will employ just over 30 Barbadians. āWorkers will be recruited closer to year-end,ā he revealed, explaining that officials of the two investing companies will be managing the feed business here. He said the brand will also be released later, most likely during the official opening of the plant, at a date to be announced. The well-informed source also disclosed that the new feed manufacturer will produce some 20 tonnes of the product per hour with the capacity to also supply the Eastern Caribbean islands. Over the years, poultry and livestock farmers in Barbados have had to rely on short-term Government subsidies to ease the financial burden when the monopoly producer increased feed prices. As recently as March this year, Pinnacle increased the cost of its products by an average of eight per cent. The company had said it had no choice but to raise prices as external market forces continued to adversely affect the cost of primary inputs, namely soybeans and corn. During the Budgetary Proposals in March, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that the Government would work with the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) to provide a $2 million revolving fund to provide small loans to livestock farmers. In an update on Friday, Chief Executive Officer of the BAS James Paul told Barbados TODAY as far as he was aware, that had not yet materialised. āI havenāt received any money and I am not aware of anything being put in place as yet. What I will say to you is that I have spoken to the minister on the matter and he has to get back to us,ā Paul said. emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb Emmanuel Joseph You may also like Boat captain jailed for possession, trafficking of $1.5M in cannabis 19/02/2025 CARICOM urged to address āeducation crisisā amid World Bank report 19/02/2025 Electoral commission to take over birth, death registrations – AG 19/02/2025