The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

An Abaco-based producer yesterday said government "definitely has a role to play" if The Bahamas is to increase its poultry output.

Lance Pinder, operations manager at Abaco Big Bird Poultry Farm, told Tribune Business: "I think the biggest thing, like any other farmer in this country, is that business people don't invest money if they don't feel they can sell a product at the end of the day.

"When you're fighting all the time, competing with the imported stuff, it really discourages people. The upfront costs and access to financing are also big issues."

Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, last month lauded the domestic poultry sector's growth potential as "huge" given that it currently supplies just 15 percent of the Bahamian market. He was addressing the 15th annual Abaco Business Outlook conference.

"I think in our situation we were big enough, but small enough, to find a niche market and that kind of allowed us to survive, but to really go full steam ahead and have a poultry industry that is producing 50-80 percent, the Government has a role to play in that. No one wants to invest money they can't get a return on," said Mr Pinder.

He added that August had proven to be one of Abaco Big Bird's worst months in years, with September not much better. "We rely on the Nassau market more around this time of the year when things slow down here, but that has proven to be a very sluggish market," he added.