President Irfaan Ali has announced a three-month pilot programme to stabilise the prices of eggs, chicken, beef and mutton by pooling orders from public institutions and participating businesses. Retailers who opt in will receive negotiated wholesale prices and will be required to pass the savings on to consumers.
Speaking at State House after talks with suppliers and supermarket owners, Ali said fragmented purchasing left farmers uncertain about how much to produce and buyers unsure what would be available, when it would arrive and what it would cost. He said that uncertainty increased waste and drove up financing, storage and transport costs that consumers ultimately paid.
“We must bring prices down without squeezing the people who produce our food,” Ali said.
The programme will combine demand from public institutions and allow interested wholesalers and retailers to participate. Orders will be published in advance, setting out quantities, quality standards and delivery schedules so farmers, cooperatives and processors can plan production.
“Government is not taking over farms. Government is not taking over shops,” Ali said. He said participation would be voluntary and that producers could continue selling outside the programme while retailers could keep buying through their usual channels. The government would publish the programme’s rules and the agreed maximum retail prices.
Ali said bulk purchasing could bring down the cost of feed, veterinary supplies, chicks, breeding stock and packaging. Coordinating refrigeration and transport could also reduce spoilage and cut the number of trucks travelling empty, he said.
Participating retailers will agree to maximum markups, display the agreed prices and report quantities sold. Ali said the government and private sector would publish a dashboard tracking farmgate, wholesale and retail prices so the public could see where costs were rising and whether savings were reaching households.
“The consumer must see that reduction on the shelf,” he said.
Ali said contracts would take account of verified production costs, quality and reliability of supply. They would not automatically go to the supplier offering the lowest price on a given day. Where appropriate, farmers could receive multi-year purchase commitments to give them enough certainty to expand.
“A farmer should not deliver eggs, beef or poultry and then wait months to be paid,” Ali said. The programme would set payment deadlines and track whether they were met. He said late payments forced farmers to borrow at high cost and called on banks to offer affordable financing suited to agricultural production cycles.
Producers would be expected to commit to higher output, consistent quality and reliable delivery. Ali said the government would work with farmers and processors to set production targets for each commodity and identify the financing, inputs and infrastructure needed to meet them. The government would also provide veterinary support, market information and contract enforcement.
Ali said egg and chicken production could expand relatively quickly if farmers had reliable access to feed, chicks, veterinary services, working capital and markets. Increasing beef and mutton production would take longer and require improvements in breeding, pasture management, animal health, traceability, slaughter capacity, cold storage and transport.
The government would also work to improve access to financing for poultry houses, livestock pens, pasture development, refrigeration, processing equipment and delivery vehicles. Ali said stronger laboratory and food safety services would help producers meet local standards and reach larger regional markets.
Ali said procurement decisions would follow published assessments of local production, stocks and expected demand. He said the programme would set three-month supply levels as a buffer against shortages. Any imports needed to cover shortfalls would be temporary while local production expanded.
He said the programme must protect competition and guard against any one buyer, processor or small group of suppliers gaining control. The pilot would be judged by how much production rose, how much waste fell, how quickly farmers were paid and what families ultimately paid for eggs, chicken, beef and mutton.
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