Zimbabwe re-introduce surtax on chicken

The re-introduction of surtax on chicken and other goods to promote local producers has revived the local poultry industry with experts predicting further growth after imports declined significantly.

Local poultry products are becoming more competitive, according to the industry association after the regularising of imports.

The removal of import duty on soya bean meal has also helped in making local chicken producers compete with their regional counterparts.

The Zimbabwe Poultry Association Chairman, Solomon Zawe told the ZBC News that members of his association are targeting an output of over 60 million day-old chicks this quarter, up from around 40 million last year.

"Large-scale broiler meat production increased by a phenomenal 28 percent, due in part to the 6 percent increase in number of birds processed and the 11 percent increase in average dressed weight from 1,38 kgs to 1,53 kgs. Total broiler meat production is now estimated at 8,096 metric tonnes per month," he said.

While there is buoyancy in the poultry industry, it is a different story in the beef industry where stakeholders have raised concerns over the nation's on farm production of maize which has fallen, giving rise to import supplementation for the manufacture of stock-feed.

Meat consumption has changed significantly in Zimbabwe over the last 20 years.

Beef used to be the most consumed, with an adult Zimbabwean eating on average 13kgs per annum in the 1980s, but that has today dropped to only 3,3kgs, the lowest in the region.

In most households, beef has been replaced by chicken and pork.

More than 50 percent of meat products consumed in Zimbabwe are chicken.