Within the framework of the 20th poultry congress, held by the National Federation of Poultry Farmers (Fenavi) until next Friday, Gonzalo Moreno, executive president of the guild, shared the balance of the year to date, the challenges since the last strike in the country, the production and pending tasks of the chicken and egg sector in Colombia.
According to the leader, the challenges of the sector extend from the 2021 strike, where poultry farming wasfected by lowering the herd of laying hens from 50 to 45 million.
(Read: Hidroituango: Petro asks to evacuate population before turning on turbines).
“From this fact, until the end of this year we will once again have the figure of 50 million, which will also be reflected in the consumption of eggs per capita, decreasing by 5% as a result of the blockades. The cycle is so long that from the time the hen is born and begins to lay eggs, six months pass, so during the strike they did not receive enough food, which affected and continues to affect it, so much so that until the beginning of next year we will recover the numbers of before the lockdownsMoreno said.
Regarding the chicken sector, the president of Fenavi assured that it has had a faster recovery, allowing a production of close to one billion birdswhich represents a growth of 9%.
Currently, per capita consumption, is 334 eggs and 35 kilos of chicken meat.
Compared to 20 years ago, it has doubled, going from 150 to more than 300 and in the case of chicken, this figure increased from 14 kilos to almost 36, according to Moreno.
According to the president of Fenavi, the supply of chicken and eggs in Colombia is not at risk due to different factors such as the ability of producers to supply the products. “In Colombia, 80% of the cost of producing these products is corn and soybeans, however the sector has been transformed. In the country there is an advantage and that is that we have producers at the national level. In 1 out of 3 municipalities there is a poultry farm, and what this causes is that the production is distributed throughout the territory and positions us as one of the most consumed proteins”, he assured.
Thus, in terms of poultry production, to the egg sector is estimated for this year a total figure of 16,250.16 million, being the months January (1,404.52), February (1,387.05) and March (1,368.61), the months that rebound the most in the item. However, this has decreased its numbers so far in 2022.
Looking at chicken, the volatility of production behavior estimates that until September, the total figure for the year was 1,344,880 tons produced. In turn, the months with the best figures correspond to September (156,882), June (152,736) and May (150,832).
(Also: Due to inflation, 700,000 clients would have problems with credits).
For Gonzalo Moreno, there will be effects on the price of products due to the rise in the dollar, but in addition to that, due to interest rates since different producers In order to leverage, they have different bank loans.
“The food that is entering the country today was bought three or four months ago, however the farmers have an effect on the cash flow that is in the pocket. Everything is rising worldwide, however the price in the market is determined by supply and demand, but there is going to be a lag for consumers because the inputs are very expensive“, said.
In the eyes of public opinion, the size of the egg has decreased, however, the leader of Fenavi explained that this is due specifically to the age of the bird, “The younger you are, the smaller the egg is going to be. The sizes currently seen are from strike-affected producer hens that did not receive enough feed. So you see an effect there.”
Likewise, others of the challenges stem from the rains that have been occurring lately in the country. According to Moreno, “It is impossible to get egg production through tertiary routes, taking into account that, in addition, the issue of road infrastructure is a huge cost and effort, which can even have an impact on accidents.”
Another point to highlight is the work on sustainability. According to the president, the poultry sector is a leader in the field thanks to the processes that can be carried out within the sector.
“We use rainwater to feed our animals, as well as chicken manure and chicken manure, which is the excrement that serves as fertilizer, and we have a circular economy model.”, he finished.
Diana K. Rodriguez T.
