Record prices of chicken have worried all citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) these days. A kilogram of chicken meat has become a luxury for many. Unlike last year’s 8.50 BAM, the price of chicken breasts these days is a dizzying 14 BAM, and wings and drumsticks as much as 8.50 BAM, Avaz writes.
What is even more worrying are the announcements that this will not stop and that prices will continue to increase. Apart from consumers, producers and farmers are also worried.
Ups and downs
This was confirmed by the president of the Tuzla Canton (TC) Poultry Association, Mevludin Kahvedzic, and Sead Masic, a farmer from Gracanica settlement Stjepan Polje.
”It is known that poultry production was the first to rise to its feet after the war in BiH, because, more or less, farms were preserved. With the enthusiasm of farmers who continued to work in the production of chicken meat and table eggs, the devastated equipment was restored and we quickly came to our senses,” Kahvedzic recalled.
He added that there have been ups and downs in the business in recent years, from unfair competition, uncontrolled imports, the COVID-19 pandemic, to last year’s unprecedented drought and poor maize yields for fodder.
”To be honest, the question is whether, until two or three months ago, the price of about 3 BAM per kilogram of chicken was realistic, but we just kept quiet and worked. Now, due to global disturbances in the world market, rising energy and fodder prices have put us in an unenviable situation. A ton of fodder jumped from 570 BAM to 1.120 BAM,” he told, adding that 87 farms in TC are endangered, and 2.500 people work on them.
Everything is getting worse
Sead Masic has 14.000 chicks on his farm, and he is worried about the current situation, which, as he stated, is getting worse day by day. He mentioned that the state must react urgently and that he is also worried about the disappearance of components in the market for chicken nutrition.
”The current incentive of 14.3 pfennigs “per beak” in TC should be increased to at least 20 pfennigs in order for farms to survive. Otherwise, the livelihoods of a large number of people will be endangered,” Masic concluded.
E.Dz.
