Cattle slaughter ban boosts CSE chicken stocks

• Shares of Bairaha, Three-Acre Farms, Grain Elevators and CIC record gains
• Both indices end in red after price losses in certain illiquid shares 

Poultry industry stocks gained sharply on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday with the Cabinet of Ministers deciding to ban cattle slaughter in Sri Lanka.

The Cabinet office yesterday said the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to implement a proposal tabled by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa over the banning of cattle slaughter in the country with immediate effect, subjected to the implementation of relevant measures.

On the back of this development, Bairaha Farms PLC share rose Rs.8.90 or 7.88 percent yesterday to close at Rs.121.80 while Ceylon Grain Elevators PLC share gained Rs.6 or 7.89 percent to close at Rs.82. The Three Acre Farms PLC share also gained Rs.12.90 or Rs.10.26 percent to close at 125.70.

CIC Holdings PLC, which also has a poultry arm, also saw its share price improving by Rs.2.40 or 3.46 percent to close at Rs.71.80.

Meanwhile, the main All Share Price Index yesterday closed at 5993.55, below the 600-point mark achieved on Monday as a result of price losses in illiquid shares such as Carson Cumberbatch and Bukit Darah, which were propped up on Monday. The more liquid S&P SL20 index also ended in red, losing 19.61 points to close at 2, 476.11. 

Yesterday’s market turnover was Rs.3.1 billion. The banking sector was the top contributor to the market turnover.

Foreigners continued to be net sellers on the market as foreign sales yesterday toped Rs.1.2 billion while foreign purchases amounted to mere Rs.57 million.