The Situation in the Poultry Sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina have sufficient capacities for production and processing of poultry meat and it can meet the needs of the BiH population. Consumption of poultry meat is about 14 to 16 Kgs/capita/year and 180 eggs/capita/year – these quantities are relatively high and there is a growth potential. More than 90% of poultry meat producers are cooperants of one of the processing units in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Usually cooperation between processors and farmers goes like this: processors are selling to farmers' one-day chicken and concentrate, and also providing monitoring of process, veterinary services, etc. The key issue for the poultry industry is the need to import feed ingredients and in some cases complete feed on a regular basis. Given the cost of feed often represents about 70% of total costs, any disruption in normal/traditional supply channels could increase costs significantly, or worse – completely close the flow of feed to producers. Bosnia and Herzegovina has currently around 1.4 million chickens in production. Current production is about 370 million eggs per year while needs of BiH are about 400 to 450 million eggs a year. Price of the egg is 0,18 BAM per piece. Around 70% of table egg production goes through organized cooperative systems similar like meat production. 30% of table eggs production is coming from small farms. These eggs are sold directly on farms, green markets or small markets.