Poultry-related production reach self-sufficiency: Amaraweera

Colombo, September 10 (Daily Mirror) - The poultry meat and related productions in the country have reached self-sufficiency, Agriculture and Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

He made these comments while participating in a media conference at the Agriculture Ministry.

The country's daily egg production has increased to 8 million. The daily consumption of eggs has grown by the same amount. As the country has been able to produce the entire amount of eggs required on a daily basis, the egg prices have decreased to Rs. 42 as of today, he said.

The production of chicken has also increased, and by now the production of chicken in the country has grown to an excess. Although the daily requirement of chicken is about 500 metric tons, the daily production of chicken has increased to 600 metric tons, he added.

About 3,000 poultry farms were closed due to their being unable to sell their products during the Covid-19 epidemic and all those farms are now active again. Also, there is a rapid increase in the daily meat production as all the poultry farms are being used to their maximum capacity.

The price of eggs, which increased to Rs. 65 several months ago, has decreased to Rs. 42, and the price of chicken has decreased from Rs. 1,750 to Rs. 850.

Due to the measures taken by the government to increase poultry production after 2022, the poultry and related products industry has also grown.

However, the government decided to import eggs due to the business community raising the price of eggs in the past. The Minister also mentioned that if the business community does not increase the price of eggs according to their wishes, there will be no need to import eggs.