The political crisis in Colombia is going through difficult days. Roads have been blocked by protestors, and there are more than 60 million birds trapped in the main poultry production regions of Colombia that could die because of a lack of feed. Trucks cannot deliver feed to farms and cannot take finished product to the market.
Fenavi, the National Poultry Producers Association of Colombia, has also declared that 120 million table eggs are not being taken to the market, together with 16,000 metric tons of chicken meat. Also, 400,000 one-day-old chicks have already died. Buenaventura, the main port in the Pacific Coast, where part of the imported corn and soybean enter the country, is also blocked.
In an appearance before the Colombian Congress, Juan Felipe Montoya, CEO of Incubadora Santander - the largest egg producer in the country and one of the top 10 Latin American egg producers - said that their farms have been looted. Also, egg flat production is in jeopardy, so eggs cannot be transported. Breeder farms are also in danger. Impacts might even lead to closing down the company!
Poultry producers are requesting for a humanitarian corridor, with the help of the Red Cross and the protestors themselves, to bring feed to the farms and allow for the transportation of the two most important animal proteins for Colombians.
All this will ultimately affect the consumer, who incidentally, may be part of the same group of protestors. Poultry producers are expecting a decreased chicken and egg supply. Food shortage is already reported to be between 20% and 40%, depending on the area of the country. Price increases could go up to 110%.
Colombian poultry production, once again, is being impacted, right next to the pandemic crisis. Last year 2020, Colombia had a 5.2% decrease in broiler production compared to 2019. On the egg side, there was an increase of 6.3% year over year in the layer flock.
Colombia has the third largest poultry industry in Latin America. However, the situation will impact this industry and ranking. Will Colombia be able to recover? We hope so. We hope the crisis will be solved. Meanwhile, I would make and appeal for calm and common sense on the protestors side. We are talking about food. Food for all Colombians.
What do you think?
