The Grain Behind the Chicken

Ask a poultry producer what keeps them up at night and feed will come up before almost anything else. It is among the largest expenses in broiler and layer production, and in Sri Lanka maize is one of its principal ingredients. What happens to maize eventually shows up in the price of a chicken and an egg.

The scale is large. Government estimates published in 2022 put annual maize requirements for animal feed at about 700,000 metric tonnes. That benchmark is due for an update as poultry production grows, but it shows the order of magnitude. Domestic output across the two cultivation seasons of 2024 totalled 223,497 tonnes, according to the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH). That is less than a third of the estimate, so imports fill much of the gap. DAPH recorded 221,935 tonnes of maize imported for animal feed that year.

Those imports depend on permits, timing and the wider economy, and the rules have changed more than once. DAPH has linked sharp rises in maize prices during 2024 partly to restricted import periods and controlled volumes. Between January and November that year, the domestic maize price rose from roughly Rs. 130 per kilogram to Rs. 191.

Here are some views from New Anthoney's Farms.

What uncertainty does on a farm

Feed is a cost that moves quickly. When maize is scarce, prices rise, and the change passes down the chain. A producer cannot always pass it on to consumers, especially when supply is growing and selling prices are under pressure. The result is a squeeze on margins that is hard to see from outside the industry.

Smaller businesses feel it most. A large producer can buy in bulk, hold stock and negotiate terms. An independent feed mill or a small farm often has fewer options. It may have to buy when prices are high because it has no nearby alternative and no reserve to draw on. Over time, that exposure can discourage the investment the industry needs.

None of this is a reason to stop raising birds. It is a reason to plan carefully, buy with foresight and work with partners who can handle volatility.

Planning for the bird, not just the bag

New Anthoney's Farms raises its birds without antibiotics. That choice puts particular weight on feed. Birds that are not routinely medicated depend on their own defences, and those defences depend on what they eat. For the company, ingredients cannot be treated as interchangeable commodities.

The wider model rests on the same idea of planning. Much of the company's production comes through contract farming and outgrower partnerships, with independent farmers who have agreed buyers and terms. That gives the company a more predictable supply base. It also gives farmers something harder to find in an open market: a known buyer and a clear basis for planning their season.

Planning ahead has costs. Buying earlier ties up cash and can mean paying for ingredients that later fall in price. Holding stock requires space and careful management. Those trade-offs are real, and any producer making the same choice will recognise them.

Traceability follows the same logic. When a company knows which farms supplied its birds, it can respond quickly if something goes wrong and explain what went into the product. Buyers ask those questions more often, and a structured supply base is better placed to answer them.

The people at the other end of that model matter too. A smallholder who raises birds alongside other work rarely has the scale to negotiate with a feed supplier. Within a formal arrangement, the same farmer can plan the next flock with a known buyer, agreed terms and access to technical advice on biosecurity and flock management. That support does not change the price of maize. It does change how much of the price risk a small farm has to carry alone.

Feed quality is part of the product

Ingredients vary from one batch to the next, and a substitution that looks sensible on paper can change how birds grow. When maize is short, the pressure to substitute grows with it. Producers who hold their formulations steady accept a higher bill in return for predictable results. Customers rarely see that decision, but it shapes the product on their plate.

Reading the market

Feed prices reflect the wider season. Harvest timing, stock levels, import approvals and exchange rates all feed into what a producer pays. A good planner watches those signals rather than the price on the day of purchase. Four are worth following: domestic output once the harvest is in, stock levels held by mills and importers, how long approved imports take to arrive, and the farm-gate price, which shows whether growers have reason to plant more.

None of these signals is a forecast on its own. Together they give a clearer picture than any single headline.

Output is not the same as margin

Sri Lanka's poultry output has grown. DAPH figures show poultry meat production rising from about 236,110 tonnes in 2023 to about 258,540 tonnes in 2024, and egg output increasing over the same period. Those gains show the industry's capacity. They do not show that every farm earned better margins.

Production can rise while prices ease and costs stay high. In that situation, the producers with the most staying power are the ones who can keep investing, keep flocks healthy and keep supplying customers through lean months.

What steady supply makes possible

Consistent supply helps everyone in the chain plan. Feed mills can order with confidence, farmers can decide when to restock, and retailers can keep shelves filled. Consumers see fewer sudden changes at the counter. None of this removes the pressures of a volatile market. It makes them easier to manage.

For New Anthoney's, the aim is to hold the same standards whatever the season brings. That means accepting some cost and complexity, and being open about both.

Looking ahead

Maize will remain central to Sri Lankan poultry. Import rules, harvests and prices will keep moving, and no single producer controls them. What a producer can control is how it plans, which standards it keeps and how clearly it explains its choices.

Shoppers do not need to follow import tariffs to benefit from a steady supply chain. They need to know that the chicken on their plate was raised with care, and that the people raising it had the planning to keep doing so. Raising chicken without routine antibiotics takes more planning, more monitoring and more patience than the alternative. It also asks more of the feed that goes into the bird. For New Anthoney's, that is the trade it has chosen, and it is one worth understanding when you decide what to buy.