Chicken leg quarters to be imported, government grants licence for five weeks

Minister of Agriculture Derrick Kellier says his ministry will be granting a licence for the importation of four containers of leg quarters per week for the next five weeks as the country grapples with a shortage of chicken meat.

The Agriculture Minister says the measure follows consultations between Ministry personnel and industry partners and stakeholders.

He says the leg quarters will be sourced from the United States and Canada, and only from areas that have been declared free of bird flu.

Kellier says the Ministry will be continuously monitoring demand to ensure production levels match demand going forward.

He was addressing the official opening of the Best Dressed Chicken Cumberland hatchery in Portmore, St Catherine, yesterday.

Meanwhile, Jamaica Broilers says it expects the shortage of chicken on the market to ease by this weekend.

Its competitor, Caribbean Broilers says it could take another three weeks for normality to return to the industry, following increased demand over the Christmas period.