ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC:
The Grenada government is calling on poultry farmers to expand their range of products as the island moves to curtail imports of the commodity that last year amounted to EC$20 million (US$7.4 million).

A government statement said that Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has already held talks with the Grenada Poultry Association (GPA) on the issue of expanding its range of poultry product.

“The poultry industry has tremendous potential for our country with the high consumption of chicken and chicken parts as part of our daily diet,” Thomas said. “We will give the necessary support to enhancing the poultry sub-sector as part of the development of the agribusiness sector,” he added.

Last year, Grenada imported over 13 million pounds of chicken which accounted for 90 per cent of the chicken consumed here and according to the GPA figures, local production accounts for just 10 per cent of local demand.

Prime Minister Thomas said that the ever-increasing cost of food, especially meat, on the international market makes investment in the sector important to Grenada’s food security and the reduction of the island’s food import bill.