NASSAU, BAHAMAS — An Abaco poultry producer said yesterday that it is looking to create its own hatchery as the cost of broiler eggs have risen between 150 to 200 percent.
Lance Pinder, operations manager at Abaco Big Bird told Eyewitness News the resurgence of the Avian Flu is one of the main reasons the cost of table eggs has risen exponentially.
“It’s been a really rough year,” Pinder said.
“The Avian flu has been really bad and it’s a big reason why table egg prices are so bad. The challenge we have is that the price of broiler eggs which have also gone sky high or we can’t find them. Their prices have gone up 150-200 percent if you can find them. Obviously, feed prices have gone up not just here but globally pretty close to 80 percent in the last eight to twelve months.
“You also have to deal with freight and the cost of shipping Freight and the cost of shipping as well as fuel,” he continued.
“It’s all just piling up. We’re having it very rough right now. There was a time when you would increase your price every two to three years now it’s every two or three months. We’re looking into creating our own hatchery so that we can get our own breeder flock. It’s a challenge getting the breeder birds. There are also a lot of people trying to get into the egg production business right now. There is a lot of interest in it and obviously, there is demand.”
Pinder noted that the issue of egg production, which was once available in The Bahamas, underscores the need for this nation to ramp up efforts toward food sustainability.
“We can’t produce everything but there are some things we can do here and we need to make serious efforts towards those,” said Pinder.
