Sri Lanka’s CIC Feeds expanding broiler breeder business

Sri Lanka's CIC Feeds has plans to expand its broiler breeder business, increasing production with an additional 400,000 day-old chicks per week. The expansion will help CIC Feeds meet the rising demand in its own broiler farms and for supply to its customers.
CIC Feeds has chosen to use equipment from leading Dutch hatchery technology company Pas Reform, to attain its fast-track plans for further expansion. CIC Feeds will use the latest SmartSetPro setters and SmartHatchPro hatchers, together with a full suite of ventilation, climate control and hatchery automation systems from Pas Reform.
As an integrated poultry company the operations of CIC Feeds Group include the manufacturing of compound feeds, breeder farms, hatchery, broiler farms and processing plant.

Lal Silva, managing director of CIC Feeds Group, said: "For solid, sustained growth, we have looked at the latest modular, single-stage technologies to deliver robust, uniform day-old-chicks that support our plans throughout the integration, as well as increasing efficiencies in our hatchery operations.

"In choosing Pas Reform, we have an incubation partner that understands our challenges and opportunities for the future, with SmartPro hatchery technologies that meet all of our criteria for quality, increased production and energy savings."
As an integrated operation, it has become imperative to exploit the full genetic potential of modern chicken breeds, which is made possible by modular, single stage incubation practices, said Silva.

The company has chosen 12 SmartSetPro setters and 12 SmartHatchPro hatchers, in combination with Pas Reform's SmartTray 162 setter tray with space saving honeycomb design, for improved cost per hatch. The new CIC Feeds hatchery is nearing completion and will be fully operational in the third quarter of 2014.

Sri Lanka to be self-sufficient in eggs by year-end

Sri Lanka will be self-sufficient in chicken eggs by the end of this year and the government will take steps to halt egg imports before the start of 2014, reports the country's Ministry of Economic Development.
Under the Divi Neguma Programme, poultry farmers were given 10 one-month-old chickens. To date, 1.1 million chickens have been distributed. Since October this year, an additional 600,000 birds have also been given to farmers taking part in the project. Free technical advice has been provided by veterinary surgeons.
The development program has resulted in 330 million eggs being added to the national diet each year, and the ministry reports that the project has contributed nearly INR4,329 million (US$33 million) to the national economy. 

Sri Lanka broiler producer to expand business, increase production

Sri Lanka poultry producer Bairaha Farms will invest in a 360-million-rupee (US$8.01 million) broiler farm that will increase the company's production by 15% over the next three years.
Bairaha will spend 120 million rupees (US$2.67 million) on the project in the remainder of 2011 and 240 million rupees (US$5.34 million) in the next two years. The expanded farm is expected to produce its first birds in August or September 2011, according to Chief Executive Yakooth Naleem.

Sri Lankan poultry industry faces severe maize shortage

The Sri Lankan poultry industry is facing an acute shortage of maize and fears collapse if the government does not act soon, Dr. D.D. Wanasinghe, chairman of the All-Island Poultry Association, told the Daily Mirror.
The government must lift the ban on maize imports to tide over the impending crisis, Wanasinghe was quoted as saying.
About 48,000 metric tons of maize is needed for the poultry industry to survive from September until February next year, when the next harvesting season sets in, he added.