News
Chicken and egg production hit by dollar crisis
ECONOMYNEXT – Chicken meat production has plunged 30 percent and egg output 40 percent due to the depreciating rupee pushing up costs of feed imports further affected by foreign exchange shortages, an industry official said.
“Small and medium scale farmers are leaving the business due to feed shortages and because big poultry companies are stopping buy back schemes,” Ajith Gunasekera, President of the All Island Poultry Association said.
Broiler meat output has fallen 30 percent to 12,000 metric tonnes a month from 18,000 metric and prices have shot up, he said.
A kilo of chicken sells around Rs. 1,200, up from around Rs. 460 before the crisis hit. The official inflation rate rose 39 percent in the year to May 2022.
Inflation and currency depreciation have put protein in particular out of reach of the less affluent pushing up malnutrition. Basic starch in the form of rice has rise from 105 rupees a kilogram to 230 rupees a kilogram after the latest bout of money printing while people are losing jobs and wages are cut in the private sector.
Doctors at Lady Ridgeway Childrens Hospital have said they are seeing higher levels of malnutrition among children.
Expatriate workers are being rapped for sending money to their inflation-hit families outside the official banking system to take advantage of much higher exchange rates available outside banking channels.
Eggs which were around 18 to 25 rupees before the latest money printing bout have now shot up to 43 to 50 rupees with production down 40 percent amid feed shortages.
Gunasekera said daily egg production which was around 700,000 to 800,000 has now fallen to around 400,000.
“Chickens are also laying fewer eggs due to nutrition problems,” he said “A chicken will usually lay about one egg a day but without proper feed they will lay fewer eggs.”
Egg prices are up partly due to high transport costs from Kuliyapititya where most of the large egg farms are located to Colombo, he said.
About 73 percent of the cost of raising broilers was feed. Maize which was Rs. 40 to 45 a kilogram has now doubled with supplies low following the failure of the Maha season due to the chemical fertilizer ban. Due to reduced paddy milling, rice polish is also not available.
Forex shortages have made it difficult to import maize or soya meal. The industry is hoping to get some inputs from the Indian credit line.
News
We aspire to build a nation where all citizens coexist in peace and resilience for the future generation -PM
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the government is ready to listen to the people and aspire to ensure a peaceful and united nation for future generations.
The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing public gatherings on April 20 at the Manik Farm Community Development Centre in Settikulam and the Ukkulankulam Ground in the Vanni electoral district.
The current Parliament has the highest number of female representation in its history. Previously, women constituted less than 5% of Parliament out of the total number of 225 However, 52% of the country’s population are women.
Women play a significant role in sustaining the economy, maintaining family structures, and upholding society yet their representation in decision-making bodies has been limited. Therefore, we urge you to elect not only male representation to Parliament but also more female representatives from the Vanni district.
Vavuniya is currently developing into a thriving city. Therefore, essential services expected from provincial councils must be effectively delivered. Local government bodies should actively participate in the development of the rural sector.
We recognize that education holds significant value for the people of the North. You place great importance on education. However, the country’s education system has deteriorated and weakened. Specifically, the lack of necessary attention to the education sector in the North has made it more challenging compared to other regions. Moreover, I have learned of a more alarming issue that the diminishing value placed on education by young men and women. Clandestine Drug Distribution and alcohol are now readily visible in everywhere. There are no avenues for youth to find joy while avoiding these substances. The underdevelopment of fields such as science, arts, and drama has left them without means to find happiness. Therefore, significant interventions must be necessary.
If you elect a group that is free from corruption and fraud, we can allocate funds without hesitation, ensuring they reach the appropriate hands. These funds can then be directed towards the development of your village. That is why your choice is important.
The events were attended by Deputy Minister of Co-operative Development, Upali Samarasinghe, Vavuniya District MPs S. Thileepan and M. Jegatheeswaran, along with the local government candidates and residents.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
The Sri Dalada Maligawa has announced that due to the large number of devotees coming to Kandy to venerate the sacred tooth relic, the time of exposition of the sacred tooth relic has been extended by an hour.
Accordingly the public can pay homage from 11.30am upto 05.30pm from today [21]
Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced.
His Eminence, Cardinal Farrell, announced with sorrow the death of Pope Francis, with these words: “Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning (local time), the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.” “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised.”
Farrell adds: “With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.”
Francis’s papacy heralded many firsts and while he never stopped introducing reforms to the Catholic Church, he remained popular among traditionalists.
He was the first Pope from the Americas or the southern hemisphere. Not since Syrian-born Gregory III died in 741 had there been a non-European Bishop of Rome.
He was also the first Jesuit to be elected to the throne of St Peter – Jesuits were historically looked on with suspicion by Rome.
Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI, was the first Pope to retire voluntarily in almost 600 years and for almost a decade the Vatican Gardens hosted two popes.
As Cardinal Bergoglio of Argentina, he was already in his seventies when he became Pope in 2013.
[BBC]
We aspire to build a nation where all citizens coexist in peace and resilience for the future generation -PM
Exposition of sacred tooth relic extended by an hour –
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