Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

POULTRY: Kenyan poultry farmers have asked for the suspension of poultry imports from the region, in an unprecedented move that could brew a trade spat.

Kiambu Poultry and Co-operative Society Secretary  Zack Munyambu said the country has a surplus of 253 days in chicken inventory.

This, he added, means that despite Covid-19, the projected supply for poultry products will be good to last at least until the second half of 2021.

“Covid-19 crisis has severely aggravated the situation with the closure of hotels, restaurants and other institutional buyers coupled with the restrictions in the movement of goods and people,” Munyambu said.

Oversupply crisis

He said such a request is not unprecedented since poultry associations in Europe have similarly asked for relief to “prevent” an oversupply crisis in the sector during the pandemic.

The request by the co-operative society comes barely a week after Uganda Manufacturers Association gave Yoweri Museveni up to Christmas time to ban Kenya’s beef and poultry exports into their country.

Kenya Federation of Poultry Farmers has also claimed that a local importer has been bringing cut processed chicken into the country and selling at a cheap  price.

In a letter addressed to Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and Department of Livestock Production, the federation want a temporary suspension of importation of processed poultry products from all the East African Community  states, until all these issues are resolved.

“Only fully dressed chicken is approved as imports from Uganda, parts are not acceptable because it is difficult to verify what else is coming with the parts,” the letter read in part.

The farmers say the chicken parts could be coming from more developed markets such as South Africa, China, Middle Eastern countries, European countries and the United States categorized as ‘waste’ since they do not consume the parts.

The new twist comes days after Kenya’s trade ministry officials started negotiations with Ugandan counterparts after manufacturers in Kampala demanded that Kenya’s exports be blocked from their market before Christmas.

Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) last week said they are meeting Uganda’s officials to resolve trade disputes after Ugandan manufacturers accused Kenya of blocking their milk, sugar and beef from entering Kenya.

Local producers are also dealing with much higher production costs compared to the neighbouring countries with especially chicken feed costs being a major source of pain.

The poultry farmers said that through a purchase in Babadogo, Nairobi,  they have obtained evidence of chicken cutup from a Uganda importer being sold in Nairobi.