By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

An Abaco poultry producers yesterday said its production levels have fallen 70 per cent due largely to a “softening”  of sales in New Providence.

Lance Pinder, operations manager at Abaco Big Bird,  told Tribune Business that while the Abaco market has been performing well, there has “definitely been a fall-off” in Nassau.

“Business could be a lot better than what it is. Our production is down by about 70 per cent,” he said. “There are a lot of imports coming in now.

“People don’t seem to be adhering to the policy of buying 30 per cent local, so we are trying to see if the Government could catch on because since last summer it seems as though everything really slacked off.”

Mr Pinder added: “There has definitely been a fall-off in the Nassau market. Our Abaco market is pretty good. We have had a pretty good year in Abaco, but more then half of our chicken needs to go to Nassau or somewhere else. A lot of stuff comes from Brazil and wherever, and leg quarters have always been a dumping problem here.”

Mr Pinder said Abaco Big Bird’s production fall-off was impacting its staff. 

“It affects our processing crew a lot. They only work when we have chicken to process. If we are down 70 per cent, that is  the salaries of 20 people being affected,” Mr Pinder said, adding that the company currently has 40 employees.

Mr Pinder said: “Our production always drops off in the summer  because it’s hot and we have to cut back on the amount of birds, but the concern is that even with the decrease in summer production our inventory levels aren’t going down, and  now that is just starting to cool off.

“I need to increase my production. In the summer you really don’t make anything; the winter is what carries you through. I’m very concerned now. If we increase our production for the cooler months we are not going to get that product out.

“We’re only running at 70-75 per cent in the summer and I need to go to 100. Even at 70-75 per cent our inventory is not going down. There’s definitely been a softening up in the Nassau market.”

Mr Pinder said that poultry production was not the only part of the company’s business taking a hit.

“This year we have  also had a hard time selling our limes and avocados. A lot of them are rotten on the ground. Last year when there was the lime shortage they were telling everyone to grow limes, but we have had 20-25 acres of limes for years now, and it’s really hard to sell them when you’re competing with stuff coming in from Mexico where they are paying people pennies a day.”