Angolan Chicken Meat Production Sees 11% Growth Over Two Years

Luanda: Angolan chicken meat production registered an 11% growth between 2024 and 2025, increasing from 57,145 to 63,436 tons, stated the Director-General of the Institute of Veterinary Services (ISV), Capito Cabonde, on Thursday in Luanda. During a panel at the national conference on the development of the poultry sector in the country, the director highlighted that, despite the country's progress and potential, the sector still faces structural challenges in ensuring full food security and reducing dependence on imports, which in 2025 were around 228,000 tons. According to Angola Press News Agency, among the main challenges, he pointed to the difficulty of accessing credit and medicines, in addition to the high prices of inputs and the deficient network of technical and logistical infrastructure for refrigerated storage. Regarding chicken slaughter and processing, Capito Cabonde stated that the country has a slaughtering capacity of 130,000 units daily, with notable facilities in the provinces of Luanda (A vinova and Pérola do Kikuxi), Cuanza Sul (Aldeia Nova), and Cuanza Norte (Granja Piafó). Most poultry production is concentrated in 10 units distributed across the provinces of Cuanza Norte, Malanje, Lunda Norte, and Moxico, which together comprise more than 200 sheds with an installed capacity for over one million birds, supported by three feed mills and two slaughterhouses. The private sector recorded an expansion in production levels and government-supported investments, particularly in the northern provinces, especially Luanda and Bengo. The official took the opportunity to reveal that Huíla will soon have 45 new poultry farms, boosted by funding from the Agricultural Development Support Fund (FADA). On the same occasion, the director of Fazenda Filomena company, Sidney Ferreira, considered the cost of feed and the dependence on imported inputs (corn, soy, and day-old chicks) as the main obstacles to achieving self-sufficiency in chicken meat production by 2030. In turn, the representative of Fazenda E mirais company, Efraim Hilf, advocated a technical change in production aimed at increasing the weight of the birds, as he believes that the heavier the bird, around two kilograms (kg), the more nutritious it becomes, but at the same time increases the cost per kilogram, although it makes the national product more competitive in relation to imported chicken. Sanitary projections and targets were also discussed. Capito Cabonde reinforced the need to improve sanitary control, stating that diseases such as 'newcastle and avian coryza' still cause mortality rates ranging from 25% to 30% in some explorations. He mentioned that projections indicate that, by 2030, national chicken meat production will reach 103,000 tons, with a consumption need of approximately 365,000 tons for a population of 40 million inhabitants. The conference on the development of the poultry sector is an initiative of the Angolan Sovereign Fund, with the objective of raising contributions for its modernization and expansion, promoting great er competitiveness, reducing imports, and strengthening national food security. The event, which was attended by government officials and representatives of poultry companies, identified the main obstacles to increased production as the need to increase grain production, improve safety systems, and facilitate access to credit and inputs.