Bairaha Farms to tap Middle East market

Bairaha Farms PLC (BLP) set up its first large scale commercial poultry farm in Katana in the Gampaha district in 1975. This was followed by the setting up of large scale, modern parent broiler breeder farms, hatchery, broiler farms, out-grower farms and state-of-the-art chicken processing factory.

In fact, Bairaha Farms was the pioneer in processing and supplying packeted, frozen, quality broiler chicken to the Sri Lankan market.

Bairaha Farms is truly a Sri Lankan company.

It is the only public listed company in the Stock Market in Sri Lanka, where over 98% of the shares is owned by Sri Lankan people and institutions numbering 3,308.

Hence, earnings and dividends are retained within Sri Lanka for investments and for consumption, thereby spurring further economic and social development within the country.

There being 3,308 shareholders in the company further demonstrates its national status. Besides the founder shareholders the Employees' Provident Fund has a 9.6%stake in BFP, Employees' Trust Fund Board owns nearly 7.7% and Perpetual Capital (Pvt) Ltd with Perpetual Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd has a 6.01% stake (as at 31st July 2014).

Today, Bairaha a Farms Plc's activities based in a number of districts employ nearly 800 people, out-growers, sub-contractors, transporters and distributors.

There are spin-off effects on other sectors specially in the agricultural sectors, directly benefiting farmers engaged in maize cultivation and rice-millers providing a rice by-product to the poultry industry. Maize farmers are nearly 90% dependant on the poultry industry.

The next step in Bairaha Farms journey is to take the company forward with the export of chicken to Middle Eastern countries thereby helping to create employment opportunities in rural areas encompassing a number of sectors of the economy.