Farmers face oversupply challenges amid growth projections

A surplus of chicken has led many small farmers to cancel chick orders from the island’s largest hatchery, Barbados TODAY has learnt.

Despite this setback, a top industry official said the poultry industry remains on track to surpass pre-COVID-19 production levels by year’s end.

Managing Director of Gale’s Agro Products, Barry Gale revealed that numerous small farmers have been unable to sell their chicken, which has affected his business. Production rose sharply earlier this year, as farmers anticipated heightened demand during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June, when officials predicted an influx of over 20 000 visitors. But the expected demand did not materialise, resulting in an oversupply of chicken, with more than 34 000 pounds currently in cold storage.

“We are facing some cancellations [though] in recent times the demand has started to pick back up,” said Gale. He explained that some small farmers had to delay or cancel chick orders, forcing the hatchery to scale back egg purchases. “This has been going on for a couple of weeks now. So we are shortening up on our egg purchasing to accommodate the cancellations.”

While acknowledging the current difficulties, Gale pointed out that this time of year is traditionally slow for poultry sales. “Every year at various times of the year you get fluctuations in supply and demand. We’re nearing the end of summer, which is traditionally a lower demand time, less visitors on the island, less demand, that sort of thing. As we get closer to the Christmas period, I expect the demand for chicks to pick up.”

Gale described the situation as unusual, noting that small farmers generally avoid having surplus meat. “It’s a strange position that the industry is in. Smaller farmers who produced a lot of chicken, particularly for Cricket World Cup and beyond, are not getting the sales they want. The larger producers are trying to produce more chicken because they don’t have the inventory that the small farmers do.”

Smaller farmers are now offloading frozen chicken at discounted rates to reduce stockpiles. Gale warned this could further suppress demand for fresh chicken.

“When you sell frozen chicken into the market, the fresh chicken isn’t going to be taken up as much,” he said.

Earlier this month, Barbados Agricultural Society Chief Executive Officer James Paul attributed part of the surplus to the decision of the island’s sole importer, the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC), to import two 40-foot containers of chicken wings ahead of the World Cup, compounding the poultry glut.

Despite these challenges, Gale remains optimistic about the industry’s performance in 2024. “We are about five per cent more [ahead] of last year’s production, and in terms of pre-COVID-19, which should be 2019, we are [slightly] ahead as an industry, and that includes broiler, layers, and turkeys.”

Broiler production specifically saw a three to four per cent increase in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2023.

“In 2019, the industry produced 6.1 million broilers for the first half of the year. So far, for this calendar year, we are at 6.3 million,” Gale noted, adding that the industry is performing well overall. “Broiler production was ten per cent higher than 2019.”

Gale remains confident that the industry will rebound in the coming months, particularly as demand typically increases heading into the Christmas season.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb