The government is moving to cut its multimillion-dollar meat import bill by expanding local processing capacity through the construction of two new abattoirs, Agriculture Minister Anthony Smith Jr. said.

Smith said the twin facilities — one for poultry and another for pork and small ruminants — are intended to boost domestic production and reduce reliance on imported meat.

“We import just about 175 million in livestock yearly,” he said, identifying chicken and pork as the largest components of that bill.

The minister said the country already has a foundation in livestock production but lacks the capacity to process meat at scale, limiting growth in the sector.

“One of our issues is that we don’t have the capacity to process the pork at a very large scale,” he said.

Land preparation has already begun for the project at a site in the Betty’s Hope area, where approximately 12 acres have been cleared for construction.

“We have completed clearing down the 12-acre site where we will put the two abattoirs,” Smith said.

He said the facilities will significantly expand the country’s ability to process locally produced meat and support farmers seeking to scale up operations.

“When we have those abattoirs again, we’ll be able to scale up… and we would now have the capacity to process our meats much, much more on a large scale,” he said.

Some equipment has already been purchased and is being shipped to Antigua, with construction expected to continue in the coming months.

“I still think we’re several months away from opening these new abattoirs,” Smith said, noting that foundation work is still to be completed.

The investment forms part of a broader push to strengthen food security, reduce import dependence and create new opportunities in the agriculture sector.