Chief Executive Officer of Coconut Grove Hotels, Ralph Ayitey, has called on the hospitality industry and government to prioritise the purchase of locally produced poultry, stating that Ghanaian poultry farmers are ready to meet demand if there is a consistent and reliable market.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Ayitey explained that Coconut Grove Hotels has adopted a policy of sourcing all its food supplies, fixtures, and fittings locally as part of efforts to support the Ghanaian economy.
As part of efforts to boost the local poultry industry, Mr. Ayitey revealed that his hotel sources all its chicken exclusively from local farmers.
He believes that if other hotels adopt a similar model, it would create sustained demand and significantly strengthen the poultry market in Ghana.
He emphasised that while local producers are ready and capable of scaling up production, they require the assurance of consistent demand to justify long-term investment.
“It will mean a lot if the government tells all hotels to consume poultry for a month. Let us take Mr Amin’s Farm in Sunyani for example, he has crossed the 1 million mark, producing 1 million broilers a year. We have consciously tried to encourage other hotels to use locally grown chicken.
“In discussing with them, that is how we came up with those figures, and it is because we have gizzard, wings, thighs, and all other parts from the chicken. If you put them together, it comes up to 7,000 birds a month, and that is just one hotel.
“So, if you put the three to five-star hotels, which are about 35 in Ghana, that is huge. And the producers are ready to produce,” he stated.
