Firm boss: Stockfeed produced

GOODMAN Fielder (PNG) continues to manufacture poultry stockfeed, supplementing imports to meet the market demand, says general manager Manish Randev.
He was responding to concerns by local poultry farmers on the shortage of poultry feed supply, the increasing demand for stock-feed and the company’s ability to supply.
Randev said, in recent weeks, the stockfeed industry experienced an increase in demand.
“This comes about after a quiet first six months of 2021 due to the shortage of day-old chickens in the market which resulted in our re-aligning production plans,” he said.
“However, with the hike in demand in the market, we reassure farmers and their customers that we are continuing to manufacture stockfeed locally and supplement through imports through group company, Wilmar International to meet market demand.”
He said the company was working with customers to ensure business needs were met. “For some, selling of live chickens is a daily income,” Randev said.
“We are also working with customers to understand their three-month plan so we can support and ensure continuity of supply of stockfeed.”
The Farmers and Settlers Association Inc issued an alert a few weeks ago of a reported shortage of poultry stockfeed.
President Wilson Thompson said it had affected farmers in East New Britain, Eastern Highlands and other the highlands provinces.
The three major suppliers are Goodman Fielder International, Trukai, New Guinea Tablebirds (NGTB) and Farmset Ltd.
In the past 12 months, Trukai and NGTB had stopped production leaving Goodman Fielder to supply the whole country.
Farmset said there could be reasons behind the shortage in supply but the main one was the delay in shipment as most of the stockfeed was produced in Lae and shipped to Port Moresby.