admin
Production of day old chicks increased by 22 percent last year to peak at 78,4 million, up from 64,4 million the previous year, an official said last Thursday.Zimbabwe Poultry Association chairman Solomon Zawe said large-scale broiler meat production last year was similar to 2013 at 2 690 tonnes per month.
“However, estimated total meat production from broiler chickens in 2014 is estimated to have increased by 24 percent to 11 000 metric tonnes per month,” he said.
“The increase is attributed to the growth in the small holder sector which is estimated to account for more than 70 percent of total chick sales,” he said.
Mr Zawe said day-old layer pullet production in 2014 went down three percent from 2013 while large-scale table egg production declined by sixteen percent to two million dozen eggs per month.
“However, total egg production, estimated from pullet sales, is estimated to have declined by six percent to four million dozen eggs per month, which is partly offset by an increase in smallholder egg production,” he said.
A report that the Livestock and Meat Advisory Council produced showed that the improvement in the poultry industry was due to the
Government intervention of banning imported genetically modified chickens from Brazil and South Africa. – New Ziana
Online Reporter