Poultry sector urges the US to accelerate the health admissibility of chicken wings

Pending health approval in the United States, The poultry sector continues to bet on the American market with exports of Colombian chicken wings. Likewise, this line expects growth in egg and poultry meat production, despite the change in consumption trends.

(See: Milestone for the Colombian poultry sector: the country exports eggs to Cuba for the first time)

This was confirmed by Gonzalo Moreno, Executive President of the National Federation of Poultry Farmers of Colombia (Fenavi), who in conversation with Portafolio explained that they are looking for enter the Caribbean and Asian markets, and also reach 40 million units of egg exports to Cuba this year.

How is egg and chicken meat production going?

We close 2023 with a production of 1.8 million tons of chicken meat and 17 billion eggs. This year what we see is, surely, that we will close with chicken growth close to 0.8% or 1%, which is good news because in the past we were not able to grow, giving the highest chicken production in history. In the case of eggs, we will close 2024 with almost 18,000 million units, which gives us a growth of 4.5%.

(Read more: Currencies from the agricultural sector in Argentina fell 37% in May)

They managed to reach Cuba. How is the dynamics of foreign trade?

We managed to open Cuba where at this moment we have more than 7 million eggs sent to this country. We are going to close the year with a shipment of 40 million. It is also going to open for products that are liquid and powdered eggs for an industrial issue, and we continue fighting to open the Caribbean and Asian markets.

We not only want to enter these markets with eggs, but also with chicken. Colombia has a great opportunity to export this protein and we are in it.

(See also: Uncertainty grows in agriculture due to the use of parafiscal funds for economic reactivation)

What is the real impact of the low rate of economic growth on the poultry sector?

We are seeing a change in consumer trends. In the case of chicken, Colombians are not seeing prey as in the past, but rather they are changing to other preparations such as rice with chicken, ajiacos or soups, dishes in which chicken is present but not in the way it was. before, because people simply do not have the same resources that they had.

In the case of eggs we do see an increase in supply, which means that more people are consuming, but also out of necessity. The upper strata also do it for reasons of taste and interest.

(Read: Agriculture in Colombia: characterization and typologies of those who provide us with food)

How did you approach the El Niño phenomenon?

Within the sector, for many years we have done very strong work in capturing rainwater in reservoirs. These are present in 65% of the country’s farms. Capturing rainwater allows this resource to be delivered to birds in some areas of the country through purification. We had a drought area, so we have to prepare for future occasions, where the water storage capacity will have to be greater.

(Read more: Minister of Agriculture presents plan to confront the La Niña phenomenon)

What is the process of exporting chicken wings to the US?

The American health authority will visit us and we are in the process. Unfortunately, the United States is becoming a closed economy, with health admissibility processes taking too long. Beef has been around for 10 years and we have been around for three years.

We have the buyers, we have everything, but unfortunately it is moving very slowly. Precisely, in some meetings I had recently in Washington we told them that we need to be allowed to enter, we have the quality and the product, but we need health admissibility.

(See: ‘Sowing to reap’: agricultural sector, the most prominent in the economy)

In terms of sustainability, what can be highlighted?

The Colombian poultry sector is a world leader in sustainability. We are launching a strategy around water. We managed to capture that rainwater and begin to have a policy of using it in planting trees, so that there is also more rainfall, generating wetlands. Additionally, we created the first sustainability poultry seal, which is the first in its industry and of its kind.

This allows us to advance improvements in production standards in the country, to compete with the world and improve income with sustainability.

(Read more: ‘Agricultural insurance shows the impact that the El Niño phenomenon has had’)

It is expected to close the export of Colombian eggs to Cuba at 40 million this year.

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What stands out from the recent poultry congress?
We are very happy, we had 35,000 square meters with more than 3,900 attendees. This is the largest Spanish-speaking agricultural congress in the world. It represents a great opportunity for the country, which has become the leader in the region. We had presence from more than 25 countries and that becomes an opportunity to advance in this leadership.

(Read: ABC of the reasons why the price of fertilizers continues to fall)

How is AI being used within the sector?

This is about data science. With them we can improve the processes of the sector. There are already companies that are making very interesting developments to improve productivity.

A company in the coffee region is developing robot chickens that allow them to capture information from the air, food, and water and, in real time, obtain production results and be more efficient.

(See also: Coffee growers redouble their commitment to grow in the Chinese market)

In terms of food, how do you see the corn situation?

As a result of the pandemic and the war in Russia, prices increased by 250%. Now these values ​​are returning to the levels they were before the pandemic, where there was a 50% cost overrun. What we had was an abnormality, taking into account that Colombia has a deficit in corn production. 7 million tons of imports are needed and we only produce one million.

We are betting on the development of the highlands by purchasing all the corn that is produced in Colombia, but unfortunately it will take many years for the country to be self-sufficient without counting growth.

(Read more: FNC committees reaffirm their position regarding the risk of coffee purchase guarantee)

What advantages does chicken manure have in the current situation?

Chicken manure and chicken manure is a natural fertilizer that has allowed coffee to be produced in areas where poultry farming is carried out, which were desert lands, today, for example, La Mesa de Los Santos. This is an industrial fertilizer that poultry farmers stabilize and sell. It is also a soil restorer.

We even have projects with different entities because they are finding that since industrial inputs have increased so much, this allows it to be a way to reconstitute the land.