THERE is an adequate supply of local chicken on the markets at affordable prices following the increase in production recently.

A check at the city’s municipal markets yesterday revealed that chicken price is now approximately $260 to $280 per pound for plucked chicken.

This is a reduction from the $360 that consumers paid during the March/April period which was due to the supply of chicken being affected by the late arrival of hatching-eggs in the country.

In rural communities, live chicken can be accessed at an average $180 per pound. This price being paid by Guyanese is still one of the lowest paid for chicken in the entire Caribbean.

“Guyana is not short of chicken, we can produce all the poultry meat that we need in Guyana and even export a little, we are self sufficient in the production of chicken,” Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad said.

“The prices must come down, it’s a case of supply and demand and I expect this to continue for a while because there is an adequate amount of chicken on the market,” the Minister said.

Recently the Minister, accompanied by the media, visited Bounty Farm at Soesdyke/Timehri and saw the vast chicken production.

Minister Prashad said from all the indications, the price of chicken will remain relatively stable and it will be in full supply for another couple of months.

Assurance was given by the Minister to the public in March that Government is working to put measures in place to cushion the effects of the high prices. However, he stated that he could not give the assurance that the price of chicken would return to the level that Guyanese were accustomed to paying.

“Prices for chicken will not come back to what it was just before Christmas, I must also be honest with the consuming public but there is an adequate supply of chicken in the market,” the Minister said.

Chicken was sold at $240 per pound during the 2007 Christmas season.

During the high rise in chicken prices, the Guyana Poultry Producers Association had stated that there will be a glut in the market for chicken. Since then, the largest producer, Bounty Farm Limited, has been meeting the demands of the consuming public. Small farmers have since taken up the initiative to produce more chicken.

Minister Prashad reiterated that his Ministry, through its Consumers Affairs division, will monitor the situation very closely to make sure there is an adequate amount of chicken in the system.

While other food prices were soaring due to global effects, the rise in chicken prices in Guyana was due to the lack of supply of the commodity which in-turn caused the demand to soar.

According to a statement from the Government Information Agency (GINA), the Guyanese public currently consumes an estimated 800,000 pounds of chicken per week or 3.2 million pounds per month.

Government, recognising the need, implemented measures to reduce the high prices of chicken including the granting of licences to importers to bring in foreign chicken in the short-term and the zero-rating of hatching eggs.