January 11, 2010

Philippine poultry demand seen to grow in 2011

Poultry is one of the growing sectors in the Philippine agriculture as one company projecting an increase in demand by as much as 46% in 2011 compared to the demand in 2007.

According to figures from San Miguel Foods Incorporated, the demand for chicken is pegged to reach 24.1 million in 2011 from a 16.5 million demand in 2007.

"That is a 46% increase in a span of four years," said Vicente Lao, head of Maharlika Agro-Ventures Corporation (Maharlika).

Maharlika is set to manage a poultry farm that will be owned and financed by North Star Asia Holdings Corporation, wherein its stakeholders will actually be able to monitor the farm and procedures in real-time online.

The farms will be managed by the Maharlika Agro-Venture Corp., one of the largest poultry farm managers in Southern Mindanao, and owned by North Star Asia Holdings Corp., a newly formed company for the sole purpose of handling the investments made through the virtual farm.

Also, San Miguel Foods Corporation is set to buy the poultry produce of the farms set up by North Star Asia Holdings Corporation and to be managed by the Maharlika Agro-Venture Corporation.

Meanwhile, records from the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that the poultry subsector registered a 3.46 output gain in 2009.

While production of chicken and chicken eggs decreased by 3.21% and 6.33%, respectively, the subsector's share in total agricultural output was 14.09%. The gross receipts of the subsector amounted to PHP100.3 billion (US$2.2 billion) at current prices, up by 11.38% compared to prices in 2008.