The Dormaa Poultry Farmers Association has appealed to the Government to waive taxes on imported poultry inputs to ameliorate production challenges.

Mr Dennis Ansu Agyemang, the Public Relations Officer of the Association, made the appeal when he addressed a news conference at Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region.

He said the poultry industry had a long value chain including farmers, farm hands, egg sellers and transporters, loading boys, maize and feed sellers, poultry sellers and feed millers.

Those in the value chain, he noted, were adversely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and an outbreak of bird flu in Europe.

"This has created shortages in the supply of maize, soya meal and other inputs used in the preparation of our poultry feed. Economics indicates that when demands exceeds supply, there will be shortages and prices will be forced to rise," Mr Agyemang said.

He explained that the situation had necessitated the increment in price of poultry products, adding: "we have, therefore, admonished our members to either sort their eggs into four groups - large, medium, small, and pullets, or will not grade at all and call it unsorted, to get the right prices for business progress.”

Mr Agyemang said 50-kilogrammes (kg) of maize, which sold at Gh¢55.00, was now selling at Gh¢90.00, while 50kg of Soya, which was Gh¢145, now pegged at Gh¢195.00.

He said a 50kg of concentrate was Gh¢245.00 but now sold at Gh¢260.00, a 50kg of shell, formerly Gh¢23.00, now sold at Gh¢33.00, and 25kg of wheat bran, which was Gh¢25.00, now costed Gh¢32.00.

He expressed the hope that government, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, would positively respond, as a matter of urgency, to save their businesses from collapsing.