Niugini Table Birds Factory Launch Yesterday
By Mr. Ivan Pomaleu
You all may have read in the papers that Niugini Table Birds are in the process of opening up a processing plant here in Port Moresby. It is a K80 million facility to be established over three years. Yesterday was
the launch of the project and I attended. It is a direct response to the enormous growth in demand of chicken in Port Moresby based on growth in the industry. There is some importation of chicken from Australia because of this shortfall in supply capacity. Overall Port Moresby is a significant market for the chicken industry, from a national perspective.
With the demise of the Ilimo farms in late 1990s this market is being supplied from Lae through Zenag and NTB, and their collective capacity to fulfill market demands has been found wanting. The cost of freighting one kilogram of chicken from Lae is K3 per kilogram, and that gets passed onto the consumers directly.
The factory, based on my initial understanding, is likely to wholly or significantly depend on out growers to supply the factory. NTB does not have the chicken farm yet. That means that individuals and groups in NCD and Central province who are interested will be able to farm chicken and sell to the factory. It was very clear in yesterday's statements that this is the business model they are seeking to replicate here from their
experience in Morobe.
There is a possibility that they will establish a feed meal (or revitalize an existing one) and also build a hatchery here.
Now here is why it is so exciting. NTB (as I understand based on how it works in Morobe) will give farmers (i) day old birds, (ii) stock feeds,(iii) drinkers, (iv)saw dust change, and (v) extension (farming) advice. After 6 weeks when the birds are harvested, the NTB deducts its costs and gives the balance to the farmer.
All the farmer needs to do is build a shed and sign up with the NTB, and off course commit to the agreement on how regular must you take in day olds and work through the cycle.
I am sharing with you this information, especially for those staff members who are from this side of the country, or have land or whose members of the family have land.
This is an opportunity! With a signed up agreement with NTB, National Development Bank is willing to put up the credit to build a shed. Because the repayment to the bank will be at the factory door (same as nucleus estate in palm oil), which means that
when NTB deducts its cost per batch of birds harvested from the farmer, a portion of that deduction will cover the loan repayment, and they pay that cheque to NDB directly. It is a win win situation for three parties - the farmer, the bank and the factory.
Kind Regards
Ivan Pomaleu
Managing Director