Two months after the first export of chicken meat – last May – to the Bahamas, Ecuador’s poultry industry is preparing to continue sending this protein sustainably, at least until the end of this year.

The first shipment of chicken meat was 28 tons and thanks to this first experience, from now on the exporting company, Avícola San Isidro (Avisid), located in the canton of Isidro Ayora (Guayas), will send a weekly container of chicken meat to the same destination and it is not excluded that the protein could enter new markets in the not so distant future, indicated the executive director of the National Corporation of Poultry Breeders of Ecuador (Conave), Diana Espín, during the celebration of the National Day of Chicken Meat, at an event that took place this Friday, 7. July in Guayaquil.

Ecuador opened markets for its chicken meat, 28 tons were exported to the Bahamas

“We don’t have a limit, we are currently starting with 28 tons, in a container, the destination was the Bahamas, we can’t talk about more destinations that we have in mind because we are working on that search, but at least that export is maintained and the export of containers of 28 tons per week until the end of the year and it’s logical that the goal is to maintain it over time,” explained Espín, who, regarding other markets the industry wants to open, said it depends on the individual certification of each company that wants to export and the requirements set by each country they want to go to “There are some that are stricter than others, but the goal is to negotiate or have that company work to meet those parameters.”

CEO Conave pointed out that the national poultry sector produces about 500,000 tons of chicken meat annually, creates 300,000 direct jobs and has a turnover of about 4.5 billion dollars annually, which represents 4% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

“All chicken meat is for Ecuadorians, we are self-sufficient, we are now exporting and we hope to reach more destinations. We started with a small amount, but we have a big goal and it boosts the economy,” said Espín.

Diana Espín, executive director of the National Corporation of Poultry Growers of Ecuador (Conave), assures that the national poultry sector produces about 500,000 tons of chicken meat annually. He did this during the celebration of the National Chicken Meat Day, an event that took place on Friday, July 7 in the afternoon in Guayaquil. Photo: Peter Tavra Franco

Patricio Almeida, executive director of the Agency for Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control (Agrocalidad), also highlighted this opening of the market. “Look at the effect generated by this first export that was made a few weeks ago and it goes hand in hand with the certifications that guarantee the quality of the product going to important destinations like this,” said Almeida, who highlighted the work being carried out for quality certification, good poultry practices, certification of poultry farms and sanitary programs implemented and control of diseases such as avian influenza.

8 million birds vaccinated against bird flu and 120 days without new disease outbreaks

Regarding this last point, Almeida found that there have been no new outbreaks of bird flu in the last 120 days. And that after the first cases at the end of November 2022 and the start of vaccination in March last year. However, the fact that there have been no new epidemics does not mean that the vaccination of birds has stopped.

Almeida assured that the vaccination process continues and that it is a permanent strategy and that around 8 million birds have been vaccinated to date. “We are now in the phase of vaccinating farms with focus and perifocus, as we see how events unfold, we can extend these biosecurity rings to at-risk areas as well.” He said that long-lived birds would probably be vaccinated in the second phase.

Bird flu: $2.5 million has been invested so far to address the emergency

In this regard, CEO Conava clarified that the chicken meat production sector is not affected by bird flu. “The sector that was dedicated to the production of edible eggs was particularly affected, for which apparently (the meat production sector) did not reduce its production, we as a corporation worked to promote the message that they have no fear of consuming this Espina protein. He said.