Series of measures to curtail poultry imports announced |21 December 2022

(L to r) Ms Labrosse, Minister Joubert, PS Nancy and Mr Morin during the press conference (Photo: Laura Pillay)

In light of the adverse impacts of meat importation for local broiler producers, the department of Agriculture and department of Trade have agreed on a number of measures with cabinet, aimed at curtailing imports.

The series of measures which seek to address challenges faced by the poultry sector were agreed upon on December 14 and have since been discussed with registered active broiler farmers, and importers.  

Import of broiler meat has increased significantly over the past 10 years from 2894 tonnes in 2012 to 3532 tonnes in 2021. On the other hand, local broiler production has increased from 398 tonnes in 2012, to 1278 tonnes.

The measures proposed include a temporary volume restriction on imports which is set to take effect as from January 2023. This is to be realised by a panel comprising MACCE (Ministry of Agriculture, Climate Change & Environment) officials, the Trade department, the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Investment (MIEI), and the Public Health Authority (PHA) who are to recommend volume restrictions, and the quotas that will apply to each of the fifteen importers.

Additionally, amid concerns over the length of time in which imported meat products take to reach local consumers, consumption dates are to be introduced on both locally-produced and imported meat. As such, importers will be obligated to provide documentation certifying the country of origin and other stages of the value chain, in line with traceability recommendations of the Health authorities.

“We know that the situation is not that good for broiler producers right now. We have just come out of Covid and we have a situation of war in Ukraine which has affected many of the inputs into the sector. Following this, we have had quite a significant influx of imports which is also having a major impact on the sector, and we find it necessary to invoke certain provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to actually help us cope with the situation right now,” said the Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change & Environment, Flavien Joubert.

“We have noted that some of the importers have gradually migrated from their original position to other parts of the economy. We see them now retailing and supplying the public with products at cheap rates, and accessing parts of the economy where they were not present previously,” Minister Joubert added.

The matter has been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade.

As per records held by the MACCE, there are 14 registered active broiler farmers – eleven on Mahé, one on Praslin, one on La Digue and on Denis island. The majority have a contract with the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) to market their products, although STC is currently holding 102 tonnes of local broiler meat at their cold storage facility, due to high competition.

As part of the measures, STC as a state-owned entity, has agreed to continue to provide a service to farmers, and will work on buying an increased volume from local producers.

Within the medium to long-term, government is working to raise the standards of the abattoir. Work is under way to get the red meat abattoirs online, while negotiations are ongoing with private entities towards more white meat or poultry abattoirs. This should address the quality of products on the market.

Considering that demand is highest for chicken parts than whole chicken, producers are being encouraged to make the shift to parts. Principal secretary for Agriculture, Keven Nancy, highlighted that most producers were apprehensive to get into chicken parts production in the past on account of the high cost of investment required for the equipment, processes and lack of assurance that the venture would be profitable, alongside intense competition from imported counterparts.

With the PHA onboard, an intensive sampling and testing campaign targeted at identifying hormones and antibiotics is to also kick off, in a bid to improve the quality of products reaching consumers’ plates. The MACCE is to support the authority financially for the campaign.

Asides from better quality products, consumers can expect that prices will remain affordable, as farmers have committed to not raising prices.

Seychelles NATION spoke to an experienced producer with thirteen years of experience in the sector, who has welcomed the proposed initiatives as “a small win towards the right direction”.

“At the end of the day, we have been fighting for this for a long time. Implementing these measures will require some patience, careful thought and consideration if we are to achieve what we want, but in my opinion, these measures are a good step in the right direction,” he said.

Affirming what PS Nancy pointed out, the producer explained that producing chicken parts is something which he has considered, but was thrown off the idea since they had no assurance that there is indeed a market. To produce chicken parts requires a dedicated processing space, specialised equipment including blast freezers, delivery trucks and setting up a distribution chain.

For his part, trade consultant Charles Morin noted that the measures are in line with the WTO, which supports fair trade, whereby measures are permitted if a sector of the economy is being impacted.

“The sector is one which forms the backbone of other sectors in the economy,” Mr Morin stated.

Also present was laboratory technologist of the PHA, Sylvette Labrosse.

Laura Pillay