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HARARE —The Zimbabwe Poultry Association says this year’s production target of 78 million day old chicks will not be met due to influx of cheap chicken imports.

Zimbabwe imports most of its chicken from South Africa and Brazil.

ZPA chairperson Solomon Zawe said the industry was at risk of collapse if measures were not put in place to curb imports.

“Production is very bad and the industry is collapsing. Last year we produced 64 million chicks and we were targeting to produce 78 million this year but so far we have produced only 38 million with 7,5 million in June as the highest production month,” he said.

“The industry is flooded with chickens we do not know whether it has grown big or people do not have money to buy or it is because of imports.”

Zawe said the huge influx had negatively impacted the local industry to an extent that breeders were failing to find buyers even for discounted chicken.

“We are desperate and we are sweating. Some are now selling live birds $3 but still they cannot find takers,” he said.

He however said despite the challenges they would soldier on.

“We are down but not out,” he said.

Poultry breeding and production in Zimbabwe is commercially based and includes thousands of indigenous producers in communal areas and in backyards in urban areas. The Zimbabwe government in 2012 imposed import duty of $1,50 per kilogramme on imported chicken but this has done little to curb imports. — New Ziana.