Farmers to benefit from another drop in feed price
By Marlon Madden
As farmers struggle with blistering heat triggering losses of animals, Pinnacle Feeds announced Monday it is cutting animal feed prices another three per cent, the second reduction in two months.
At a press conference at the company’s Lower Estate, St Michael offices, managing director Rekesh Bernard also reported that Pinnacle Feeds has seen a slight fall-off in business that can be directly linked to the heat.
“The heat has had a significant impact on consumption in all animal rearing across Barbados. And so you have seen that slight fall-off [in] consumption because, for one reason or another, people are not necessarily reaping the benefits from farming that they once were,” said Bernard, though he was unable to say by how much business has been affected as a direct result of the heat waves that have been affecting farmers since 2021.
However, he said the further reduction should be of some benefit to the agriculture sector.
“So this is really our way of committing to the farming community in Barbados to say we understand the challenges, we have gotten a break and so here is a break for you as well, and we are in this together,” he said.
While the reduction will not bring feed prices back in line with what obtained before the approximately eight per cent increase in prices announced in March this year, officials of Roberts Manufacturing Company Ltd, Pinnacle Feeds’ parent company, said they were optimistic the further reduction would benefit farmers and consumers for the anticipated busy Christmas season.
Bernard outlined the main reasons driving the reduction in feed prices which skyrocketed last year, due to rising demand, rising energy costs and the war in Ukraine.
“You would have known that in August we did a two per cent price reduction on feed, and effective in October, we are doing a further three per cent reduction. This is five per cent in the last two months. Majorly, it is because of the raw material prices coming into Barbados off the world market,” he said.
The Pinnacle Feeds official indicated that the price of soya and corn have been falling on the international market and the company has started to feel those benefits.
“The markets are fairly stable now so we can guarantee six months out that we will be able to keep stability in the market,” he said, adding that “beyond six months it is anybody’s guess what will happen with the markets based on when they pull the crop”.
Stating that the company wanted to play its part in helping the island build its food security, Bernard said: “Any way we can help the small farmers and the wider community with reduction in prices, we are open to doing that.”
He added: “We are putting a 20 per cent price reduction on the cost of soya bean oil to the consumer. If you haven’t seen that yet, you should start seeing it in the market in the coming days. The price reductions are aligned with our commitment to giving back to Barbados and the people of Barbados. As we see the price reduction we intend to pass the savings on to our consumers.
“Affordable feed prices going into Christmas means that more people will be able to etch out a living from producing chickens and different animals for the Christmas season. Essentially, going forward, as committed by our chairman in April, we will continue to monitor the prices of commodities in the market and where we are able we will continue to reduce prices with the aim of giving back to the consumers that have supported us over the years.”
Back in April, officials of Roberts Manufacturing Ltd installed a million-dollar, state-of-the-art mixer with the hopes of improving efficiency, productivity and quality, which officials said then, could also ultimately result in lower feed prices.
Bernard reported on Monday that it was still too early to say exactly what operational savings were on the horizon and ultimately how significant the savings could be for farmers and consumers as a result of the new equipment.
“The mixer project has really added stability and consistency to our products. There have been some efficiency gains but nothing of significance because, as I said at that point, the main driver for the cost of feed is the commodities, which is about 70 per cent of that cost of feed. But we continue to etch out efficiencies where we can and when they become significant and stable we will pass them on to the consumers,” he said.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
