OVUM – the egg finally hatched. The Latin American Poultry Congress officially opened last night at the Convention Center of Punta del Este, Uruguay, with more than 3,200 attendees – a record for this event – representing about 50 countries.
A rather modest but significant round of speeches covering the poultry industry in the region and Uruguay highlighted the role of producing these proteins in Latin America. Joaquín Fernández, president of the Latin American Poultry Producers Association (ALA) clearly said that Latin America is “the region that produces the most animal protein in the world.”
Sustainability is at the forefront, and poultry health represents quite a challenge. Poultry production exports and trade is another important feature, with Brazil at the top, to whom Fernández gave a special welcome.
Fernández also mentioned the fact that the Latin American poultry industry has many family-owned companies – not farmhouse production but rather high-ranked management – implying that it has a sizable impact on society, rendering many opportunities.
One of the important particulars that attracted my attention was the fact that this congress was carried out in Uruguay. This small and peaceful country has the lowest broiler production in the region, of about 32 million birds per year and 3.8 million laying hens. In terms of consumption, they do have a high per capita egg consumption at 296 eggs per year, but for chicken, it is rather low at 24 kg. The point is that, alongside neighboring Argentina with whom they culturally share large beef consumption, beef still dominates animal protein consumption by far.
Fernando Matos, minister of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, acknowledged that, although Uruguay is a great beef producer, poultry is highly efficient and sustainable.
Recognizing Uruguay does not have a large poultry tradition, he did acknowledge that the domestic industry has the capacity of producing and grow more.
“This would mean a very important development factor, in which many small producers can be incorporated,” said Matos.
He also said that the strategic plan of the National Meat Institute is to triple production by expanding domestic consumption but also by looking outside of their borders. This means investments and adopting more technology.
With all of this, Matos emphasized the economic, social and political stability of the country – good weather, health status and soil and enough water resources.
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