September 20, 2010
 

Philippine poultry stakeholders, government agree on standard dressed chicken prices

The Philippine Agriculture Department, local poultry raisers and market vendors have agreed on a standard reference price of PHP100 (US$2.26) per kilogramme for "unbranded" dressed chicken and PHP110 (US$2.48) for "branded" chicken.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said dressed chicken sold under certain labels such as Magnolia and Bounty Fresh will carry a higher price tag.

Dressed chicken now sells at PHP120 (US$2.71) per kilogramme, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

Members of the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) complained that PHP120 is too much as the price of live poultry is PHP48 (US$1.08) per kilo as against production cost of PHP60 (US$1.35) per kilo.

Alcala said the government cannot just immediately stop the importation of chicken under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme since it is a commitment the Philippines made to the World Trade Organization (WTO). But he assured that they are studying all options and reviewing existing policies.

Republic Act 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act refers to MAV as the volume of a specific agricultural product that is imported with a lower tariff as committed by the Philippines to the WTO under the Uruguay Round Final Act.

The duty on imported chicken under MAV is at a uniform rate of 40 percent for both volumes within and outside MAV.

UBRA president Gregorio F. San Diego urged the government to stop issuing import permits under MAV for the rest of 2010.

San Diego said the country has already consumed 90% of MAV or 21 million kilos out of 23.5 million kilos commitment under the MAV scheme.

UBRA noted that from January to August, chicken imports within and outside MAV have already reached 64 million kilograms. Imported chicken totalled 67 million in 2009.

Aside from the standard reference price, Alcala said he got a commitment from breeders to "police their own ranks" to avoid a glut of day old chicks.

Poultry raisers lamented that the low live weight price of chicken is caused by an "oversupply."

Year to date inventory of frozen chicken in cold storages is pegged at 6.5 million kilograms versus 3.5 million kilograms in the same period last year.

Also, Ubra urged the Aquino administration to help in a survey that will determine the actual demand for poultry in the Philippines.

San Diego said accurate numbers on domestic demand are necessary for the industry to better forecast production schedules.