High prices of imported chicken feeds are stalling the recovery of the poultry industry, as most producers are realising minimal returns to viably support their operations, the Zimbabwe Poultry Association has said.

ZPA chairman Mr Solomon Zawe yesterday said prices of straight feeds were pegged at over US$600 per tonne while soya meal costs US$850 per tonne.

"Such prices are just too much for producers given the fact that the industry survives on numbers, which means they have to secure adequate feeds yet there is no funding whatsoever for the industry even from Government. Government seems to be looking at one side of the coin when they fund most agricultural activities but poultry," said Mr Zawe.

He said the industry had been on a recovery path since dollarisation and producers had painstakingly mobilised resources without assistance to bring the industry to its current rating of around 80 percent in terms of capacity utilisation.