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Mozambique intends to produce enough chicken to supply domestic demand by 2019, and have a surplus to export to the international market. Chicken and egg producers say they’ll happily take up the government challenge, but complain about the high cost of inputs.
A decade ago, Mozambique produced less than 6,000 tons of chicken per year. Today, it produces 75,000. This is still not enough to meet domestic demand and the country continues to import thousands of tons of chicken every year. Low chicken prices in South Africa, Brazil and the United States remain a problem for Mozambican producers.
Mozambican poultry farmers say this has to stop. At a meeting in Nampula in early December, they announced that they were committed to producing enough chicken to stop imports, without letting quality slide.
But in order to lower production costs, state incentives will be needed. Mozambique has to increase its competitiveness, Samuel Langa, a representative of the feed factories, admits. “We ask that we get VAT exemption raw materials. This will allow production costs to fall and we then can offer the best prices in the market,” he argues.
Political and military instability
According to Suzana Luciano, a representative of egg-incubating companies, political-military instability in Mozambique is another problem.
“We are committed to growing in tandem with market needs by continuing to invest to increase production capacity in the sector. What we would like to see from the government side is a stable environment in the country,” she said. “We have to distribute eggs and chicks in the center and north of the country and we have difficulties travelling there.”
Despite all this – the low purchasing power and lack of drugs, feeders and drinkers, production is increasing. “In 2016, 2,360,000 chickens were produced, compared to 1,592,000 in 2015, representing a growth of 48 percent,” Manuel Paulo, poultry farmers representative in Nampula province points out.
Agency for poultry farming
To increase production further, poultry farmers recommend setting up an agency for the development of poultry and routine control of poultry to prevent broilers being stolen.
The government has already promised to support the sector so that one day the country can join the list of world chicken production leaders. The president, Filipe Nyusi, attended the poultry farmers’ meeting in Nampula and said he would intensify support for the sector.
The expectation is that “mass production of chicken will galvanize integrated economic development,” Nyusi said.
“We are saying that we should drastically increase production to stop importing chicken during this cycle of governance,” the president added.
The joint Mozambique, Japan and Brazil ProSavana Nacala corridor agrarian development program also contemplates boosting poultry farming in the region.
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