A decision has been reached to import 200,000 hatching eggs to reduce the shortage of mother hens required for egg production.
The Ministry of Agriculture said the monthly egg production in the country has dropped to 30 million due to the shortage of animal feed and the drop in annual imports of mother hens from 80,000 to 40,000 has also impacted the poultry industry.
Accordingly, as an alternative, as egg production will be delayed by 11 months, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has instructed the Livestock Division of the Agriculture Ministry to take steps to import 200,000 hatching eggs.
The Ministry stated that the Department of Animal Production and Health has completed the preliminary work in this regard and further steps will be implemented at the two hatcheries at the Miriswatte and Marawila farms that are under the National Livestock Development Board.
Steps have also been taken to transfer the importation of hatching eggs to the National Livestock Development Board and private sector institutions, while the Livestock Division of the Ministry and the Department of Animal Production and Health will provide necessary facilities.
The Agriculture Ministry said although the country has been self-sufficient in the production of eggs and poultry in the past, the drop in corn production to 40 percent due to the ban on chemical fertiliser in 2021 negatively impacted the industry.
The Ministry highlighted that the annual requirement of eggs is more than 2.99 billion while the monthly requirement is between 249-250 million which has dropped to 30 million at present.
