Radi

Sri Lanka poultry industry is in trouble facing several challenges for its survival due to the rise in the price of chicken feed and other raw material and a drop in demand among local consumers as they cannot afford to pay high prices of chicken and eggs, several industry leaders said, adding in a crisis where local demand has dropped, exports should be encouraged.

The World Bank Group said last week it is deeply concerned about the dire economic situation and its impact on the people of Sri Lanka.

Consumer confidence, already at extremely low levels, continued to drop with the public continuing to indicate they believe conditions will worsen in coming months and years.

The long-delayed Mannar basin M2 block (exploration and production) tender and commencement of exploration work by the selected bidder for the M1 and C1 July 2019 tender could cost Sri Lanka over a billion dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI).

Sri Lanka’s chicken meat production has collapsed 30 percent and egg output 40 percent as a currency collapse pushed up costs and feed imports were blocked by foreign exchange shortages, an industry official said.