MANY poultry producers have reportedly lost the motivation to continue their business due to severe losses.
This was stated by the United Broiler Raiser’s Association (UBRA) following the losses incurred by several industry players due to an oversupply of chicken last year.
As a result, chicken prices in several markets in Metro Manila have been affected.
Based on the monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the price of chicken meat has continued to rise, reaching P250 per kilo.
According to UBRA, the current chicken prices can be considered a record high.
“Some try to take advantage of the supply situation. So, if a market doesn’t have any and they are the only ones with stock, they will try to sell at P250 because compared to pork at over P400, P250 for chicken is still cheaper,” according to Jose Gerardo Feliciano, President, UBRA.
UBRA is not ruling out the possibility of price manipulation, as the price should not exceed P220 to P230 per kilo.
“There is always the fact that there is manipulation, especially depending on the market location,” Feliciano added.
Some players have also stopped producing chickens due to the high cost of feeds and other farm inputs, while some chickens do not reach the proper weight due to the hot weather caused by El Niño.
DA ready for dialogue with poultry players amid rising prices of chicken in Metro Manila markets
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is ready to assist the industry, saying that it is open to dialogue so industry players can voice out their concerns so that the DA could provide necessary interventions.
“In livestock, we have programs to help layers and broilers in different ways. We provide assistance in terms of additional funds for them to use, especially in cooperatives,” Deogracias Victor Savellano, Undersecretary for livestock, DA stressed.
The DA is also conducting monitoring in major markets to check if the prices are still reasonable.
Usec. Savellano encouraged consumers to look for other places to buy products at lower prices.
Department of Agriculture also sees alternative feeds for livestock industry players that have cheaper prices.
“First, what we are doing in livestock now is looking at alternative raw materials for feeds because that is what makes production or feeding our animals expensive. Locally, we are looking at alternative ingredients to reduce costs, and for example, in pork, we have our INSPIRE program which we have modified so that in areas where they can raise pigs again, we can help them,” Savellano added.
