admin 
Poultry producers in Barbados have been challenged to provide proof there’s a surplus of chicken on island.
The call has come from Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security, Indar Weir.
He was responding to a newspaper article which claimed that expectations for increased demand for chicken as a result of the Cricket World Cup did not materialise, and as a result, thousands of pounds of chicken were left in cold storage.
However, speaking during a BLP St. Philip South meeting yesterday, Mr. Weir questioned why chicken shelves in supermarkets have been empty if this was the case.
Mr. Weir has also hit back at calls for the Ministry to ban the importation of frozen chicken wings.
He says producers on the island cannot satisfy local demand, but notes the quantity being imported has decreased significantly in recent years, to the benefit of local suppliers.
The Agriculture Minister has challenged stakeholder bodies like the Barbados Agricultural Society to provide small farmers with opportunities to sell their products.
