January 8, 2020
Extreme rains worsen plight of Indonesian poultry farmers
The extreme rains that affected many parts of the country including Blitar, East Java in recent months have increased the scarcity of corn, worrying poultry farmers who use it in chicken feed, The Jakarta Post reported.
Sukarman, head of local cooperative Koperasi Putera in Blitar, said the price of corn had begun to surge in recent weeks, reaching Rp 4,800 (US$0.35) per kilogram, Rp 800 higher than the government's set price.
"The corn price continues to increase, yet the egg price keeps plummeting," he said.
According to the Trade Ministry's regulation, chicken eggs should be priced somewhere between Rp 19,000 and Rp 21,000 per kilogram. Eggs are currently sold at Rp 19,400 per kilogram in the region, below the price ceiling, Sukarman added.
"We're still making a profit at the current egg price, but we're worried the price will drop further sometime this month," he said, adding that the price had soared before Christmas, but quickly fell three days later.
Increasingly scarce corn supplies have forced some farmers to switch to other crops such as rice ahead of the rainy season, he said.
The prolonged drought late last year also decreased the productivity of poultry farmers in Blitar, with a decline observed in the quality and quantity of eggs (/contents/12-02-2019/5a99a958-b000-4a91-89dc-2cd5e40ca556-a181.html).
Blitar makes up half of East Java's egg production, with 18 million chickens producing 155,802 tonnes of eggs in 2018. East Java accounts for 30% of Indonesia's egg production.
Poultry farmers in the region require between 1,500-2,000 tonnes of corn daily as chicken feed.
Blitar Animal Husbandry Agency head Adi Andaka said the corn price surge is an issue which poultry farmers regularly face at least once yearly, particularly during the rainy season.
"What's actually more worrisome than the corn price is the availability of corn itself," Adi added, urging the central government to take swift action to prevent further scarcity.
