By the end of this year, there will be no need to import eggs from foreign countries again and I believe that the problem related to chicken and eggs in the country too will be completely resolved within the next three months, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

He expressed these views while participating in a livestock clinic programme held in Tissamaharama last Saturday (24).

“The main reason for the increase in the egg and chicken prices in this country is due to the recent COVID-19 epidemic situation. During this period, a situation emerged where eggs could not be sold for even ten rupees. The price of chicken too went down. Many businessmen in this production sector left the poultry industry. Some had thousands of chickens in their farms and had sold them,” the minister said.

Due to the economic hardships in the country, the import of mother hens decreased. In 2022, the import of mother hens has reduced to 35,000. An average 80,000 mother hens should be imported per year, but due to the shortage of dollars, it caused a huge impact, minister Amaraweera said.

But according to the current situation, a large number of chicks have been added to the existing chicken farms again. And in the past, the government provided the necessary dollars for the import of mother hens. We can produce the amount of eggs and chicken meat that the country needs in the next three months. (Chathuranga Pradeep Samarawickrama)