CONSUMERS PAY MORE AT TILL FOR CHICKEN, BUT FARMERS PAID LESS, REPORT FINDS
WHILE consumers paid more to buy chicken between February and April this year, farmers were paid less for this commodity, according to the latest Farm-to-Retail Price Spread report, published in May this year by the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC).
The report found the real farm value share of chicken over this period decreased by 3.26%, while the real farm-to-retail price spread (FTRPS) of a fresh whole chicken increased by 1.76%. The NAMC analysed data sets to compare prices paid by consumers for food with the prices received by farmers for corresponding commodities. The farm value share is the value of the farm product’s equivalent in the final food product purchased by the consumers. The FTRPS is the difference between what the consumer pays for the food product at retail level and the value of the farm product used in that product. According to the report – compiled by the NAMC’s Corné Dempers and Dr Moses Lubinga – the real farm value share of fresh whole chicken meat reached 55.41% in April. “From April 2023 to April 2024, the real farm value share decreased by 6.33%, while the real FTRPS increased by 14.97%. This could be due to the competitiveness in the poultry value chain being affected by factors such as imports and high feed prices, among other factors,” it said. For the same period, the real FTRPS of class A2/A3 beef increased by 0.95%, while the real farm value share decreased by 0.47%. The real farm value share reached 49.18% in April. Year-onyear, the real FTRPS slid by 12.64%, while the real farm value share rose by 4.64%. NAMC said the lingering effects of foot and mouth disease disrupted the production of red meat locally and there were changes in retail demand and farm commodity supply. |