Local poultry producers are taking steps to halt the import of foreign poultry products, the Ghana Local Poultry Farmers Association has hinted.

The traders have explained that the action is to prevent the local industry from collapsing.

According to the National Chairman of the association, Victor Oppong Adjei, local poultry producers have the capacity to meet international demands.

“Anytime we talk about production, people will be talking about capacity. Now we don’t need capacity, we want production”, he stated.

He added that Ghanaian poultry producers are ready to raise the bar on production provided industry players come together.

He also lauded the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.

According to him, the initiative has aided in stabilising prices of poultry products while increasing production.

“So it gives an indication that we can now produce our own broilers in the country instead of importing volumes and volumes here,” he stated.

Statistics show that Ghana spends over three hundred and seventy million dollars annually on importing over three hundred thousand tonnes of meat and poultry products into the country.

Mr. Oppong Adjei noted that poultry products imported are often stale and have lost their nutritional value because they have been kept for a long time.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has hinted at the implementation of a five-year strategic plan to address the challenge.

Ashanti Region Chairman of the Ministry, Rev. John Manu, explained that the main objective of the policy is to prepare a competitive and a more efficient livestock industry.

“An industry that increases domestic production and reduces importation of livestock products,” he described it.

He believes the strategic plan will provide employment to the country.