Market conditions in the poultry industry appear to be improving, according to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies.
He had reached this conclusion, he said, because there had been no further production closures or lay-offs recently following concerns that the sector was under threat by brown meat dumping from the European Union and the United States.
Addressing the national assembly yesterday (Wednesday), he said the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) was working closely with the private sector to support an export drive in existing and new markets.
Davies pointed out that the work of the poultry task team – led by the dti, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and representatives of the industry in an effort to restore the sustainability of the industry – was ongoing.
“Government will deploy a full suite of policy interventions in collaboration with the private sector to protect the domestic poultry industry,” he said, adding that these policies would aim to prevent job losses and factory closures while supporting the private sector in becoming more competitive.
He also pointed out that the dti had invoked regulation 8.4 of the 2017 preferential procurement regulation which facilitates local procurement in non-designated sectors.
