Bhutan poultry farmers ask for cap on frozen imports

Bhutanese poultry farmers have petitioned Bhutan’s national poultry development centre to control the rising imports of frozen chicken, citing damages to their own livelihood.

The farmers, 54 in number from the Sarpang made the case that high import of frozen chickens is not only affecting the market of locally produced chickens, but also impacting the livelihoods of hundreds of families, who depend on poultry business.

The competitive price of frozen chicken is leaving domestic birds unsold on the market, raising the spectre of debt and livelihoods lost. Bhutan’s national poultry centre, the recipient of the petition, lends money to poultry farmers to encourage economic growth.

The farmers are being pushed out by several Bhutanese importers, who are bringing in tones of frozen chicken in from India.

The situation is new to them, say Bhutan’s livestock officials, given that the history of frozen chicken imports in Bhutan is relatively long; that there is enough local production to compete with imports is a first.

Source: Bhutan’s Kuensel