BABY chickens worth a total of US$2.73 million will be sold to farmers by animal feed producer CP Cambodia Co Ltd this year, according to the company’s vice president.

Wittaya Kreangkriwit said on Monday that CP plans to sell 3.9 million chicks to 300 farming families in Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces at about US$0.70 each.

The farmers are then obliged, as part of an agreement, to buy animal feed from CP to nourish the chickens to maturity.

In 2009, the business sold 3 million 21-day-old chicks at $0.50 each, making $1.5 million in revenues.

“We hope that our sales strategy will be successful, because we believe the number of people raising chickens in Cambodia is increasing,” Wittaya said.

Chhay Sok Huon, president of Chicken Farming Association, which represents 50 chicken farmhouses in Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces, agreed that demand for eggs and chicken meat has increased this year. It intends to buy more chicks from CP.

He added: “But we want the company to sell chicks at a lower price to allow farmers to benefit more and expand. This would ensure there is a sufficient supply of eggs and chicken meat to markets, reducing the need for imports.”

He said that at present about 700,000 eggs and hundreds of kilograms of chicken are imported from Vietnam and Thailand into Cambodia.

Kao Phal, director of the Department of Animal Health and Production, said that such imports have caused problems for local farmers, due to market competition.

“We are trying to reduce the quota of egg imports and meat from other countries gradually in order to encourage domestic animal farming,” he said.

A report from the department showed that in 2009 Cambodia raised about 20 million chickens and ducks, compared to 16 million in 2008.