Poultry breeders lose JD10m in three months

AMMAN — Poultry breeders' losses exceeded JD10 million in the last three months due to the "stagnant" market, a sector leader said Tuesday.

Poultry Breeders Union (PBU) President Fares Hammoudeh blamed "high" breeding costs, main market closures and "weak" consumption for the losses.

"There is an oversupply in the sector and low demand," he told The Jordan Times.

Hammoudeh noted that the halt in exports to certain markets, particularly Iraq, also hit the sector hard, calling on the government to support poultry farmers.

"There are direct incentives that can be given to poultry breeders to mitigate their losses. In Ukraine and Brazil, for example, farmers are given fodder to make up for their losses."

He added that the government could also stop the import of frozen chicken.

Over the past years, scores of poultry breeders have protested against the import of frozen chicken and table eggs.

In related news, the recent weather conditions have resulted in the death of around 50,000 chickens, a figure the PBU says is within the "normal" mortality rate.

"Jordanian farmers breed around 15 million chickens a month. We expect around 5 to 10 per cent to die during harsh weather conditions," Hammoudeh said.

He added that poultry farmers were alerted to take the necessary measures during the recent polar front.