Two fast-food restaurants, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Church’s Chicken, are being affected by a shortage of chicken on the local market.
KFC, on its Facebook page some hours ago, posted, “Due to the current chicken shortages, we will (intermittently) be out of strips and wings. We do apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Furthermore, franchise holder of Church’s Chicken, Terrence Campbell, earlier today told the Guyana Standard that the situation persists. He noted that the shortage is affecting his business in mainly two ways: a shortage in chicken breasts which are used to make sandwiches, and the size of the chicken pieces available on the market is smaller than normal.
The latter he said, poses an issue because customers might think that the company is deliberately selling smaller pieces of chicken to gain profits. This he said, is not the case. He expressed confidence that the shortage will end shortly.
Meanwhile, Royal Castle’s General Manager, Tribhowan Brasse, said that the franchise is not affected. He said that the business procures its meat from Bounty Farm Limited, who has been providing them with a constant supply.
KFC’s post and the comments from Church’s and Royal Castle come days after the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) acknowledged reports of the shortage and sought to explain what might be the reason for this scarcity.
It reported that the shortage could be attributed to the reduction in the number of cases of hatching eggs imported when compared to 2018.
The authority postulated also that the shortage is as a result of reduced growth rates and higher mortality, which some farmers have been complaining about.
The GLDA informed that “major players” in the sector were consulted and assured that the situation would be rectified during the week.
The Guyana Standard sought to get a comment from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GLDA, Nigel Cumberbatch, but was unable to make contact.
The publication was told by presumably his secretary, that the official was unavailable and was advised to call back tomorrow.
