'Poult price must rise', Warns GFA
April 2008
The Game Farmers’ Association has confirmed that prices for pheasant and partridge are likely to be ‘significantly higher than in 2007’ as a result of dramatically rising feed and energy costs. GFA Chairman, Pam Kelsey, told her Association’s AGM in Warwickshire that game feed ingredients were up by as much as £100 a tonne on prices just one year ago. The increase in the wheat price has been widely reported but other ingredients such as soya and fishmeal have also spiralled up. “Add to that the increase in energy costs, with gas for heating brooder sheds up as by much as 50% on last year, and 10% or more on diesel for deliveries, and it is easy to see that both chick and poult prices must be appreciably higher this year,” Pam said. She would not speculate on actual prices or percentages. “That is a matter for individual game farmers, not the GFA, but we are warning all shoots to expect considerably higher costs later this year and to plan and price their end product, the shoot days, accordingly.” Many feed and gas companies are still unable to tell game farmers exactly what price rises to expect but none deny that they will be significant.
Date Added: April 2nd 2008